§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Energy how much of North Sea oil he expects to be exported for refining abroad.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonNorth Sea oil is not technically suitable for some United Kingdom purposes, and for others lower-grade imported crudes will equally serve. Therefore, some imports will continue to be necessary even when home production matches our needs, while some exports will make sense in order to enable us to realise the full value of the high quality of North Sea oil. The previous Secretary of State made this clear in his statement of 6th December 1974. In the460W changing conditions of world oil markets, it is not possible to predict now what the optimum pattern of future disposal will be.