21. Mr. Grimmondasked the Secretary of State for Energy what study he has made of the possibility of dispensing with surface platforms in the procurement of North Sea oil.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonVarious current and potential methods for developing offshore oilfields are constantly reviewed by my Department. These include subsea production systems which could avoid the use of large fixed or floating production platforms. While subsea completion systems are already in use in the North Sea, no completely subsea production system has yet been developed on a commercial basis. The indications are that production systems involving surface platforms will be preferred for the development of all existing North Sea fields.