§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the on-shore locations at which drilling has commenced or applications for planning permission have been made, indicating in each case the basic geology and depth of the strata in which oil or gas may have been found, the names of the companies involved and, in so far as public agencies are concerned, the costs so far incurred and his Department's judgment of the prospects of finding commercial quantities of oil or gas.
§ Dr. MabonNo drilling is currently taking place under on-shore petroleum licences but the Natural Environment Research Council is drilling a well on behalf of my Department at Shrewton, Wiltshire to obtain stratigraphic information. The well, on which about £1.0 million will be spent this financial year, is insufficiently advanced to assess prospects. Planning applications for petroleum drilling are made direct to the local planning authority concerned.