§ Dr. Phippsasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many oil discoveries in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea have been notified to him which have not yet been declared commercial; what are their titles; and how many of them, 385W and which ones, have a participation by United Kingdom companies.
§ Mr. John SmithTo date, there are 34 oil discoveries which have not yet been declared commercial. Such discoveries so far named are: Alwyn, Andrew, Brae, Buchan, Crawford, Hutton, Lyell, Magnus, Maureen and Tern. With the exception of Alwyn, Brae and Lyell, British companies hold interests in these named discoveries, and in the unnamed discoveries which have been announced in the following blocks: 2/10, 3/11, 15/13, 15/21, 16/21, 211/18, 211/19, 211/27.
§ Mr. Norman Lamontasked the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of North Sea oil fields, recognised as British, would not be so if the Orkney and Shetland Islands were not part of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. John SmithAs I informed the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Price) on 24th November—[Vol. 901, c. 38]—there is no basis for defining the sectors of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf that would appropriately be regarded as belonging to different parts of the country, and I cannot, therefore, estimate the percentage of total oil reserves that might lie in such hypothetical sectors.