HC Deb 05 April 1973 vol 854 cc152-4W
Mr. Denzil Davies

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total volume of oil imported into the United Kingdom in 1971–72; and what percentage of the total was derived, respectively, from each of the oil producing countries.

Mr. Tom Boardman

The total volume of oil imported into the United Kingdom in 1971 and 1972 was as follows:

'000 ton
1971 1972
Crude and process oils 107,639 105,565
Products 19,726 20,516
Grand Total 127,365 126,081

UNITED KINGDOM IMPORTS OF CRUDE AND PROCESS OILS, 1971 AND 1972
Percentage of Total
1971 1972
Middle East
Abu Dhabi 2.6 4.3
Qatar 4.3 4.2
Dubai Sharjah 1.0 1.0
Muscat and Oman 0.4 0.3
Kuwait 22.5 20.8
Iraq .6 3.3
Iran 9.9 12.5
Saudi Arabia 19.5 19.8
United Arab Republic 0.7 0.1
Total 64.5 66.3
Western Hemisphere
Venezuela 6.;0 4.9
Netherlands Antilles 0.3 0.3
Peru 0.1 0.1
Total 6.4 5.3
Africa
Algeria 0.4 1.0
Libya 18.8 14.0
Nigeria 8.2 10.1
Angola 0.1
Tunisia 0 .1 0 .1
Gabon
Sudan
Total 27.5 25.3
All others
Belgium 0.1
France 0.2 0.3
West Germany 0.4 0.4
Italy 0.2 0.3
Netherlands 0.4 0.8
Norway 0.1 0.6
Sweden 0.1 0.1
Australia 0.1
USSR 0.1 0.2
Indonesia 0.1
Total 1.6 3.1
Grand Total 100.0 100.0
Kuwait figures include imports via the Irish Republic.

The origin of the crude oil used to produce the petroleum products which are imported is not known. The available information, summarised in the following table, shows the principal areas from which petroleum products were imported in 1971 and 1972:

UNITED KINGDOM IMPORTS OF PRODUCTS 1971 AND 1972
1971 1972
Percentage
EEC 64.7 74.3
Rest of Europe 12.3 9.6
Africa 0.5 1.5
Middle East 11.3 7.1
Far East 0.1 0.2
North America 1.1 2.2
Latin America and Caribbean 9.3 4.7
Other countries 0.7 0.4
Total 100.0 100.0

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