HC Deb 18 February 1993 vol 219 c317W
Mr. O'Neill

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what considerations underlay the decision to allow oil companies to nominate areas that they wished to see offered in the 14th round of offshore licensing.

Mr. Eggar

A major aim of the 14th round of licensing is to encourage activity in little explored areas of the United Kingdom continental shelf. Exploration in little understood areas is risky. It makes sense for those who take the risks to have a say in the choice of acreage to be offered.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what account his Department took of the United Kingdom's international commitments on oil pollution standards and marine conservation in the 14th round of offshore licensing.

Mr. Eggar

The United Kingdom is fully committed to its international obligations relating to oil pollution standards and marine conservation. Special conditions applied to licences reflect this commitment.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide publicly available the environmental statements provided by oil companies as part of their licence applications for the 14th round of offshore licensing.

Mr. Eggar

The environmental policy statements from individual companies form part of their licence applications and are commercially confidential.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to improve public scrutiny of the offshore licensing process.

Mr. Eggar

Each licensing round is considered separately. Extensive consultations take place before each offshore round. As onshore licensees are subject to the planning regime, prior consultation is not necessary.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how the changes in regulations on oil and gas field development and production, announced by the Minister for Energy on 22 October 1992, will apply to the environmental safeguards contained in the licensing application process; and whether those changes will apply to the monitoring of oil companies' compliance with the environmental safeguards in their licence conditions.

Mr. Eggar

None of the measures to be introduced to streamline my Department's procedures for regulating oil and gas development and production will involve any change to the arrangements currently applied for safeguarding the environment.