§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the total area of the British continental shelf confidential surveys of which, performed by oil companies and others, are available to them.
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Gray of Contin)Out of the total area of the currently designated United Kingdom continental shelf, which amounts to 651,650 square kilometres, confidential surveys covering approximately 520,000 square kilometres have been performed by oil companies and are available to Her Majesty's Government.