§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government when they propose to make more of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf available for licensed exploration.
The MINISTER of STATE, DEPARTMENT of EMPLOYMENT (The Earl of Gowrie)My Lords, the House will know, from an Answer I gave the noble Earl on 10th July, that Her Majesty's Government are presently reviewing licensing policy. It is the Government's objective to restore the momentum of exploration activity on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, and to this end they aim to complete their review and prepare for further licensing as soon as possible.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging and informative reply. May I ask him whether he is aware that, from the first round to the fourth round inclusive, blocks were offered at the rate of more than 200 a year; in Round 5 it was 70-odd and in Round 6 I think it was only 46. Therefore, will he ask his right honourable friend to bear in mind the desirability of raising the number of blocks issued and also the frequency of the offerings?
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, the Government are aware of this problem, and if my noble friend will do me the kindness of consulting my speech in the energy debate of the noble Lord, Lord Strabolgi, he will see that we are anxious to keep up the momentum.
§ Lord BALOGHMy Lords, is the Minister aware of the fact that there are ample opportunities after the retrocession of licences from the big fourth round? Is he further aware that one ought to pay some attention to conservation? Finally, is he aware that the year 1977, to which some noble Lords are referring, was an exceptional year, because of the retrocession and the culmination of obligatory wells?
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, the Government are certainly aware that oil is an asset which is increasing in value year by year.
§ Lord DAVIES of LEEKMy Lords, will the noble Earl please bear in mind that these assets of oil, if they become assets, should not be handed out willy-nilly like cockle-finders on Cardigan Bay, but should be distributed with care for the benefit of the nation as a whole?
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, I hope that the cockle-finders on Cardigan Bay are aware of the immense amount of consultations and procedures that go on over the sixth round.
§ Lord AVEBURYMy Lords, have the Government considered that, if we make an exploration and hence discovery is speeded up, instead of being self-sufficient for the whole of the 1980s we shall have a large surplus of oil which will need to be exported? This will hasten the day when we have to return to the world market to purchase supplies of oil, at a time when the supplies available from the rest of the world will already have decreased to a very low level, and hence we shall be at the mercy of the producers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, it is to this end that we are looking at energy questions as a whole, not neglecting, as I pointed out to the House yesterday, issues connected with gas and, of course, the importance of the coal industry.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, would my noble friend ask his right honourable friend to bear in mind that, inasmuch as oil discovered is an appreciating asset, there is no necessary contradiction between the need for conservation policies on the one hand, and the widest possible exploration on the other?
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, I certainly agree that one needs incentives in order to explore the seabed, so as to find out what assets one has.
§ Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGHMy Lords, has the noble Earl any more up to date information about the oil in the Western Approaches, and about what exploration is going on there?
The Earl of GOWRIEMy Lords, if the noble Lord will give me notice, I will try to answer that question.