§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Lord Privy Seal if his advice has been sought by the oil companies or the Government of Israel on the supply of North Sea oil to Israel; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RidleyThe oil companies and other Governments are well aware of the Government's attitude towards the export of North Sea oil. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest (Mr. McNair-Wilson) on 24 May 1979, the Government continue to expect that oil companies exporting North Sea oil will do so in the markets of our partners in the International Energy Agency and in the European Community. This expectation in no way cuts across the maintenance, to the extent possible, of any existing pattern of trade outside those regions.—[Vol. 967, c.185.]