§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what was the 553W quantity of oil and associated natural gas produced from the Scottish jurisdiction sector of the North Sea in the period to 31st December 1975; and what were the respective values of the oil and gas so produced.
§ Mr. John SmithThere are no sectors within the United Kingdom Continental Shelf but because there are three systems of law in the United Kingdom it is necessary to define the areas of their respective jurisdictions. The resulting divisions are purely for this purpose and there is, therefore, no basis for attributing production other than to the United Kingdom as a whole.
The quantity of oil produced in 1975 from the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea was approximately 1 million tons. The value of this oil, taking the average market value during the period of production, is estimated at about £40 million.
The very small quantities of associated gas produced with the oil were flared, for the reasons given in a Written Answer on 15th January 1976 to my hon. friend the Member for Bury and Radcliffe (Mr. White).—[Vol. 903, c. 227.]