§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give his estimate of the annual availability of natural gas liquids from the North Sea by 1980 and 1985; and whether he accepts the nine mil T. (+ Brent) figure of Williams Mertz or the +23 mil. T of Buchanan and Clacher (United Kingdom and Norway).
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonWe are basing our estimates of potential availability of natural gas liquids on the Williams Merz report, and assuming that the gas gathering system is constructed, the availability from commercial and the larger discovered fields is assessed as being some 5 million tonnes in 1980 and 10 million tonnes in 1985. The Buchanan and Clacher report of December 1975 predicts a yield, from British fields, of around 12 million tonnes in 1983; this is in general agreement with the Williams Merz production curve. The figure of 23 millions refers to a further study by Buchanan and Clacher, as yet unpublished, and includes Norwegian as well as British potentialities.