§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the Government propose to grant United Kingdom chemical companies any cost advantage which could derive from the availability of North Sea chemical feedstocks.
§ Dr. Mabon:The bulk of petrochemical feedstocks is obtained from the refining of crude oil. Since it is our policy for UKCS crudes to be valued and traded at world prices, the feedstocks obtained from UKCS crudes will cost very much the same as those from imported crudes. So far as the gaseous feedstocks are concerned, the cost of transporting petroleum gases is such as to confer substantial advantages on countries with indigenous supplies.