§ Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in considering the issue of licences for exploration for oil in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf off the shores of Scotland.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanThe criteria under which discretionary licence applications were judged in the last licensing round in 1971 were:
- (a) in the case of a company incorporated in a country outside the United Kingdom, the extent to which equitable reciprocal treatment was accorded in such other country;
- (b) the extent to which the applicant would further the thorough and rapid exploration of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom Shelf, particular attention being paid to financial and technical ability of the applicant to carry out an acceptable work programme, the details of which were to be submitted;
- (c) exploration work already done by or on behalf of the applicant relevant to the area applied for;
234 - (d) the overall performance of the applicant on other production licences;
- (e) the extent of the contribution which the applicant has made or is planning to make to the seconomy of the United Kingdom including the strengthening of the balance of payments and the growth of industry and employment.
Before discretionary licences were issued the applicants agreed to minimum work programmes which in the case of the last round provided for the drilling of 225 wells at a cost of over £200 million.
Licensees are required by the terms of their licences to give the Government information about the progress of their exploration activity.
§ Mr. Eadieasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect that the present level of effort expended on searching for oil in the North Sea will have on the search for North Sea gas; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EmeryOil and gas are found in similar structures and may be mixed together. Any exploration effort therefore increases the chance of finding gas.