§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has as to the oil production in million barrels per day for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in the years 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithProduction of oil by members of OPEC is estimated by British Petroleum to have been as follows:
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Million barrels per day 1978 30.3 1979 31.5 1980 27.5
Million barrels per day 1981 23.4 1982 19.9 1983 18.5 1984 18.3 Source: BP 1985 Statistical Review of World Energy.
Note: Production includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and Natural Gas Liquids.
No figures have yet been published for 1985. This publication is in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has as to how many barrels per day on average each individual Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries member country produced for the years 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithInformation about individual OPEC countries' oil production is available from a number of sources; one which is readily available is the 1985 "BP Statistical Review of World Energy", page 5. Further information about crude oil production—ie excluding NGL's and some condensates—can be obtained from the OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin for 1984. Both publications are in the House of Commons Library. Data for 1985 is not yet published.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many barrels of oil were produced per day from the North sea for the years 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAverage United Kingdom production of crude oil and NGL's for the years requested is shown below. The figures are taken from the Brown Book, coverted to millions of barrels per day. 1985 total is provisional:
Millions of barrels per day 1978 1.11 1979 1.60 1980 1.66 1981 1.84 1982 2.14 1983 2.38 1984 2.61 1985 2.66
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what were the average prices of North sea crude oil for the years 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAverage price of North sea crude oil expressed as dollars per barrel:
Dollars per barrel 1978 13.8 1979 19.8 1980 30.0 1981 33.8 1982 32.6 1983 29.5 1984 28.3 1985 28.2 Source: Sterling series converted at annual exchange rate to dollars.
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§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to meet Sheikh Yamani, the Saudi Arabian Oil Minister, in the near future, to discuss oil prices and production levels; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerNo; and no.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy when he last met the representatives of oil producers in the United Kingdom to discuss oil prices and North sea oil production levels.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI frequently meet United Kingdom oil producers, both individually and as represented by the United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association and the Association of British Independent Exploration Companies to discuss matters of mutual interest.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy how much in total has been invested in North sea oil production since 1964.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithTotal investment in North sea oil and gas in the prices then ruling, together with exploration expenditure, between 1965 and 1985 inclusive was £36 billion.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the number of new oilfields which have been opened since 1978 in the North sea.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithSince the end of 1978, 18 new oilfields have commenced production in the United Kingdom sector of the North sea. A further nine fields have been approved and are now being developed but are not yet in production.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many new oilfields are anticipated to be opened, annually, in the years 1986, 1987 and 1988.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThere are six new offshore oilfields and one condensate field which have been approved and which are currently scheduled to begin production before the end of 1988. Of these, two should produce their first oil in 1987, and five in 1988. In addition, a number of other fields are expected to come forward for approval, but it is not possible to say at present whether any of these will be producing by the end of 1988.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the projected level of investments in North sea oil production for the years 1986, 1987 and 1988.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe latest forecast produced by the industry of investment in North sea oil and gas production in 1986, 1987 and 1988 was published in the 20th report of the Process Plant Economic Development Committee in August 1985. The figures are:
£ million (fourth quarter 1984 prices) 1986 1987 1988 Low estimate 2,836 1,405 717 High estimate 4,129 4,037 3,470
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many workers are employed in North sea oil production (a) on rigs, (b) in refineries and (c) in module yards.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe latest estimates available are for September 1985, when some 29,000 people were 211W employed on installations on the United Kingdom continental shelf, including construction workers and personnel on mobile drilling rigs, service vessels, support barges and survey teams; some 20,700 in the United Kingdom refining industry, and about 10,000 people in module yards.
§ Mr. Bellasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will state the sterling value of oil exports for the years 1984, 1985 and the expected value for 1986.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe sterling value of oil exports for 1984 and 1985:
£ million 1984 14,852 1985 16,050 Source: Current Account of the UK Balance of Payments Press Notice 26 February 1986.
Net oil exports for the above years were £6.9 billion and £8.2 billion respectively. Forecasts of export value for 1986 are not available.