HC Deb 29 February 1984 vol 55 c220W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the production of oil and gas, respectively, in Norway and the United Kingdom in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what is the ratio of the value of output to gross domestic product and the value of exports to total exports in each case.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

The latest 12 months for which all the requested data are available for both countries is 1982. In that year Norway produced 24.5 million tonnes of petroleum (including natural gas liquids) and 25.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas. In the same year the United Kingdom produced 103.2 million tonnes of petroleum (including natural gas liquids) and 38.3 billion cubic metres of natural gas.

The combined value of Norway's oil and gas production in 1982 is estimated to be equivalent to 17.7 per cent. of GDP, and its exports of these products to be 34.1 per cent. of total exports, by value.*

For the United Kingdom, proceeds from the sale of oil and gas produced indigenously were equivalent to an estimated 5.2 per cent. and 0.4 per cent., respectively, of GDP at market prices. United Kingdom exports of petroleum and refined petroleum products were 12.4 per cent. of total exports, by value. No natural gas was exported.

* The source of the figures in this paragraph (which are provisional) is "Fact Sheet: The Norwegian Continental Shelf; 1983:2", published by the Royal Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Norway.