HC Deb 08 February 1972 vol 830 cc341-3W
Mr. James Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many areas in British coastal waters have been designated for oil or gas exploration; what is the location of each; and in which, if any, areas exploration has not yet started.

Mr. Ridley

Four Orders in Council designating the United Kingdom Continental Shelf have been made for considerable areas in the North Sea, English Channel, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, off the West Coast of Scotland and to the north and west of the Orkneys and Shetland Islands. A map showing the areas designated has been lodged in the Library. Survey work has been carried out in all these areas but to date drilling has been confined to the North and Irish Seas.

Mr. Sillars

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies are now exploring for oil in British coastal waters; and if he will publish a list of the companies.

Mr. Ridley

Ninety-four companies, listed in the table below, currently hold licences to search for petroleum on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.

  • AGIP (U.K.) Limited.
  • Allied Chemical (Great Britain) Limited.
  • Amax Petroleum (U.K.) Limited.
  • Amerada Exploration Limited.
  • Amoco U.K. Petroleum Limited.
  • Aquitaine Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Apco Oil (U.K.) Limited
  • Arpet Petroleum Limited
  • Ashland Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Ball & Collins (Oil and Gas) Limited.
  • Blackfriars Oil Company Limited.
  • BP Petroleum Development Limited.
  • British Sun Oil Company Limited.
  • Burmah Oil (North Sea) Limited.
  • California Oil Company Limited.
  • Canadian Industrial Gas (U.K.) Limited.
  • Canadian Superior Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Century Power and Light Limited.
  • Chevron Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Cities Service (U.K.) Limited.
  • Cofrasea Oil Company Limited.
  • Confederation Resources (U.K.) Limited.
  • Conoco Limited.
  • Coparex North Sea Petroleum Company Limited.
  • Creslenn (U.K.) Limited.
  • Deminex (London) Limited.
  • Eason Oil Limited.
  • EG & G Geophysical Limited.
  • Elf Oil Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited.
  • Esso Petroleum Company Limited.
  • Eurafrep Company Limited.
  • Excalibur Oil Company (U.K.) Limited.
  • Falcon Seaboard Limited.
  • Fina Exploration Limited.
  • Gulf Oil (Great Britain) Limited.
  • Halkyn District United Mines Limited.
  • Hamilton Brothers Oil Company (Great Britain) Limited.
  • Hamilton Brothers Petroleum (U.K.) Limited.
  • Home Oil of Canada Limited.
  • Hydrocarbons Great Britain Limited.
  • Imperial Chemical Industries Limited.
  • Inlet Oil & Mineral Company (U.K.) Limited.
  • International Utilities Oil & Gas Limited.
  • Invent (U.K.) Limited.
  • A. Johnson Exploration Limited.
  • Marathon Petroleum North Sea (G.B.) Limited.
  • Mesa (U.K.) Limited.
  • Mobil Producing North Sea Limited.
  • Monsanto Textiles Limited.
  • Murphy Petroleum Limited.
  • National Coal Board (Exploration) Limited.
  • Northern and Central Gas (U.K.) Limited.
  • North Australian Petroleum Company Limited.
  • North Sea Exploration and Research Company Limited.
  • North Sea Selection Company Limited.
  • North Sea Ventures Limited.
  • Norsk Hydro (U.K.) Limited.
  • Occidental Petroleum (U.K.) Limited.
  • Ocean Exploration Co. Limited.
  • Oil Exploration Limited.
  • Pan Ocean Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Phillips Petroleum Exploration U.K. Limited.
  • Place Oil and Gas Company (U.K.) Limited.
  • Placid Oil (G.B.) Limited.
  • Plascom (1909) Limited.
  • P & O Oil Holdings (North Sea) Limited.
  • Ranger Oil (U.K.) Limited.
    • 343
  • Richfield U.K. Petroleum Limited.
  • Rycade (U.K.) Limited.
  • Scottish Canadian Oil and Transportation Company Limited.
  • Seagram Distillers Limited.
  • Siebens Oil and Gas (U.K.) Limited.
  • Seiscom Limited.
  • Seismograph Service (England) Limited.
  • Shell U.K. Limited.
  • Sinclair (U.K.) Oil Company Limited.
  • Signal Oil and Gas Company Limited.
  • Superior Oil (U.K.) Limited.
  • Syracuse Oils (U.K.) Limited.
  • Tenneco (Great Britain) Limited.
  • Texas Eastern (U.K.) Limited.
  • Texas North Sea U.K. Limited.
  • The British Electric Traction Company Limited.
  • The Gas Council.
  • The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
  • The Trans-European Company Limited.
  • The Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation Limited.
  • Total Oil Marine Limited.
  • Trend Exploration (U.K.) Limited.
  • United Canso Oil & Gas (U.K.) Limited.
  • Unocal Exploration and Production Company (U.K.) Limited.
  • Ulster Petroleums (Canada) Limited.
  • Ultramar Exploration Limited.
  • Whitehall Petroleum Limited.