8. Mr. Ronald Akinsasked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the present capacity of the British steel industry for producing underwater pipes; what proportion of the home market it satisfies; and what plans he has to increase this capacity.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Industry (Mr. Les Huckfield)British producers supplied some 20 per cent. of the underwater pipes required for the United Kingdom offshore market up to 1974. Submarine pipeline for current 12 North Sea developments has to be laid at considerable depths and United Kingdom steel producers do not have facilities to make pipe to the required specification. The British Steel Corporation is keeping under review the economic case for enhancing its 44-inch pipe mill at Hartlepool to make suitable pipe.
Mr. AtkinsI accept that the present very low capacity is due to decisions taken without enterprise many years ago. Nevertheless, will my hon. Friend assure us that he will not simply leave the matter as a question which is being kept under review by the Steel Board, nor be inhibited too much by questions of day-to-day management, in order to ensure that there is good management in the future and that we shall have the capacity of supplying our own pipes to our own oilfields?
§ Mr. HuckfieldMy hon. Friend is absolutely right about investment decisions taken in the past. I hope he will take comfort from the fact that the BSC is actively considering enhancement of its capability at Hartlepool. It has also made submissions about future plate mill development.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallIs the Minister aware that the lack of capacity is not confined only to the question of pipes and that the same situation applies in steel sheet, of which over 1 million tonnes was imported last year? Is he further aware that this situation stems not from the past but from the delay in reaching a decision on Port Talbot, which is vastly overdue after 18 months?
§ Mr. HuckfieldThe hon. Gentleman seems to have the figures a little wrong. If he looks at the whole North Sea market, he will find that the BSC is supplying the whole market for sections, supplying 70 per cent. of the market for plate and supplying the bulk of the pipe for the landlines required. In total, the bulk of the well casing requirements for North Sea oil have been supplied by British Steel, and half of the steel required for production platforms. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the total market in the North Sea, he will see that the BSC has not done half as badly as he has been suggesting.