§ 3.24 p.m.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent the Saudi Arabian assurances to maintain oil supplies to the United Kingdom on the same basis as between January and September of last year have been fulfilled by actual deliveries to this country.
§ LORD CARRINGTONHere we go, my Lords! Imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia have been continuing at or above the average level of the period from January to September, 1973.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, if that is the case may I ask why it is that the Esso Company are unable to supply more heavy fuel oil to the generating stations?
§ LORD CARRINGTONBecause, my Lords, we were expecting 35 per cent. more oil than in the 1972 period.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, the noble Lord really cannot ride away on that. I am asking: if the Esso Company are supplying us with the same amount of oil as in the comparable period last year, why are they not able to make available to the C.E.G.B. the same amount of oil as they did then?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, I think I ought to explain to the noble Lord—and I am sorry if this means I shall take a moment or two longer to do so—the increase in the amount of fuel oil used in the last year has been quite marked and we were expecting a very large increase in production. It is no use the noble Lord shaking his head; it is true. We were expecting a very large increase in the output from Saudi Arabia: 35 per cent. As it was, the 1064 figures were cut back initially to the average taken between January and September, 1973. This meant we were getting only an average of what we had got in a period of the year when oil is not used very extensively in industry: it is the light period of the year. At present we are in the heavy period of the year. Consequently, the monthly average we were receiving in November, December and January is very much less than we would be having and needing in the winter months this year and, together with the increased demand of other industries for oil, there was a need for rationing or a national cut-back of 10 per cent. so that there could be fair shares all round.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, might I ask the Minister whether he could possibly give us comparable figures for imports received over a similar period from Kuwait, and whether we are getting as much as we expected from Kuwait?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, I think possibly not quite as much, but probably not very far off.
§ LORD TANLAWMy Lords, would the Minister explain why, as the Government last year were predicting a 6 per cent. growth rate, no allowance was made for an increase in demand for all fuel oil from all industries at that period in time? If such allowance had been made and as the growth rate was not anything like 6 per cent., there should be a surplus of oil in this country at the present time.
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, before the recent Emergency there was no question of planning for oil. All that happened was that you expected to get the oil you wanted.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, would the noble Lord deal with one point which has been well reported in the newspapers? —indeed, it may be the reason for my noble friend having asked a question about Esso. It was reported that Esso were short by 25 per cent. of their promised allocation to this country as a consequence of sending non-Arab oil to other parts of Europe. Would the noble Lord confirm whether Esso are or are not maintaining their allocated supply to this country?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, the Esso Company have said quite specifically that they have been giving us all the crude they have—they themselves are short of crude. These are, as I said earlier, the sorts of questions I must obviously go into with the people concerned.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the Saudi Arabian promise was taken from their declaration in November of last year, and since then Sheikh Yamani has gone rather further and has said that Britain can have more oil if she wants it? Is that promise being fulfilled by the deliveries of the Esso Company?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, it is too early to say whether that is happening because the oil would not in any event be landed in this country until next month, but we are actively exploring the point wth the Saudi Arabian Government and with Esso.
§ LORD MAYBRAY-KINGMy Lords, can the noble Lord confirm that our trading relations with the Iranian Government have meant that our good friends in Iran are providing more petrol as a result of this agreement?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, if I may answer that question—which is not on the Order Paper—the agreement with Iran is not yet signed but is still under negotiation.