HC Deb 17 February 1977 vol 926 cc328-9W
Mr. Skeet

asked. the Secretary of State for Energy what is the size of the market for naphtha in the United Kingdom, the quantity purchased for chemical feedstock, the price range of the petroleum product in 1973 and the prevailing price today.

Dr. J. Dickson Mahon

The provisional figure of inland deliveries of naphtha in 1976 is 5,385,000 tonnes, of which. 5,209,600 tonnes was for chemical feed stock.

Most naphtha in the United Kingdom is sold on a contract basis and for commercial reasons the prices are not published.

Mr. Skeet

asked the Secretary of State for Energy to what extent the depreciation of the £ sterling below Smithsonian levels has contributed to the acceleration in the price of naphtha.

Dr. J. Dickson Mabon

It is not possible to isolate the effects of the fall in value of the pound from the other factors that have caused increases in the price of all oil products, including naphtha, such as OPEC action, supply and demand, refining and distribution costs and the oil companies marketing policies.