§ Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is now the total investment in the British National Oil Corporation; of this, how much is attributable to the Exchequer and British taxpayer, and how much from loans or other sources of overseas finance; and how this total data involvement compares with the realisation value of shares in British Petroleum as a result of the recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettTotal investment in the BNOC to end-1976 is £358 million; it has been financed entirely from royalties and licence fee revenues in the National Oil Account and borrowing from the National Loans Fund.
The sale of 17.4 per cent. of the shares in BP was a part of the package announced by the Government on 15th December and was not a requirement imposed by the IMF. The market value of the shares at present is around £525 million.