§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of natural gas is currently consumed annually in the United Kingdom(a) by electricity generators and (b) by other customers; and what quantity his Department estimates will be consumed by electricity generators and other customers in (a) 1995, (b) 2000, (c) 2010, (d) 2020, (e) 2030, (f) 2040 and (g) 2050, respectively.
§ Mr. EggarNatural gas sales to(a) electricity generators and (b) other customers in 1991 and for the first half of 1992 in Gigawatt hours were as follows:
Electricity generators Other customers 1991 13,686 581,072 1992 (January-June) 7,239 305,556 Source: Energy Trends (Table 9).
An indication of the likely range of gas requirements in some possible future energy scenarios can be obtained from "Energy Paper No. 59", which was recently published by this Department. A copy of this paper has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. BayleyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of natural gas in the British sector of the North sea his Department estimates(a) is in gas fields currently being exploited, (b) is in gas fields identified as economically exploitable but not currently being exploited and (c) is yet to be discovered in economically exploitable gas fields.
§ Mr. EggarMy Department's most recent estimate of recoverable gas reserves remaining in the United Kingdom 679W were published in the Brown Book—"Development of the Oil and Gas Resources of the United Kingdom"—in April 1992. Reserves so far identified as economically exploitable are as follows:
Billion cubic metres Proven Proven plus probable Maximum possible Fields in production and approved for development 540 805 985 Other discovered fields identified as economically exploitable 0 430 820 Total 540 1,235 1,805 In addition, reserves in unappraised discoveries and undrilled prospects are estimated at between 395 and 1,557 billion cu m.