§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) what was the original estimate of the life of the gas fields in the English sector of the North Sea; and on how many occasions since the original finds this estimate has been updated;
(2) at current depletion rates, when he expects gas fields in the English sector of the North Sea to be exhausted.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonThe United Kingdom Continental Shelf is one. There are no sectors. At current depletion rates gas from fields under contract in the Southern Basin, opposite the mainland of England, should be available for the duration of the contracts which expire between 1990 and 1997. Thereafter there is likely to be further gas available in both these and uncontracted fields, but additional capital expenditure would be needed to produce it. Estimates of reserves are reviewed annually and published in the Brown Book.