§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if there are any oilfields currently being exploited where there is a risk of premature abandonment or a likelihood of insufficient or discontinued investment leading to reduced levels of oil recovery.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithNo well can be abandoned without the Secretary of State's consent. This consent will not be given so long as recovery remains economic and is not contrary to good oilfield practice. There must be a risk that a sustained period of low oil prices will bring forward the date at which production from some wells becomes uneconomic, but I have received no proposals to cease production for this reason and have no grounds at present for believing that planned ultimate recovery from currently producing fields will be affected by insufficient investment.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Energy what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate priority is given to the maximum attainable level of oil extraction from off shore fields now in the course of exploitation or development.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe Government's policy continues to be to achieve maximum economic recovery of petroleum reserves, subject to good oilfield practice. All development plans have to meet these criteria before they are approved; fields in production are monitored regularly to ensure production is in accordance with good oilfield practice.