HL Deb 10 July 1979 vol 401 cc751-2

2.45 p.m.

The Earl of LAUDERDALE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce special licensing terms to encourage exploration of the deeper waters of and off the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.

The MINISTER of STATE, DEPARTMENT of EMPLOYMENT (The Earl of Gowrie)

My Lords, the Government are presently reviewing all aspects of offshore oil and gas licensing policy, and will be considering in that context whether measures are needed to encourage exploration in deeper waters.

The Earl of LAUDERDALE

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for obtaining that reply from the Department of Energy, of which he is not a Minister. Is my noble friend aware that the better prospects from now on appear likely to be in the deeper waters North of the 60th parallel and off the shelf down the slope?

The Earl of GOWRIE

My Lords, I must point out to my noble friend that the Government have not abandoned the principle of collective responsibility just yet. I am not a betting man, so I cannot say what the prospects are. But with the prospects that my noble friend mentioned in mind, we are trying to gather data in the Northern Rockall trough with a view to drilling a research test hole in 1980.

The Earl of LAUDERDALE

My Lords, in thanking my noble friend for that further informative reply, may I ask him whether he is aware that some of the oil companies, who recently had contact with the Department of Energy, have found that the Ministers appear to be more interested in downstream distribution problems than in long-term strategic problems of exploration? Could he perhaps convey that thought to his colleague, with whom he shares collective responsibility, in the Department of Energy?

The Earl of GOWRIE

My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that my right honourable friend has strategic considerations in mind.