§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total amount of revenue which has accrued to the Treasury from the development of North sea(a) oil and (b) gas in each year since exploration and development began.
§ Mr. DorrellRevenues raised from United Kingdom oil and gas production are as follows:
£ million Year Annual revenues 1968–69 1 1969–70 2 1970–71 5 1971–72 10 1972–73 15 1973–74 15 1974–75 20 1975–76 25 1976–77 81 1977–78 238 1978–79 565 1979–80 2,313 1980–81 3,743 1981–82 6,492 1982–83 7,822 1983–84 8,798 1984–85 12,035 1985–86 11,348 1986–87 4,783 1987–88 4,618 1988–89 3,168 1989–90 2,368 1990–91 2,312 1991–92 979 11992–93 1,278 1 provisional estimate. It is not possible to subdivide these amounts as to those derived from oil production and from gas production, or those from areas outside the North sea.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of projects which have specifically been funded by revenues from North sea oil and gas revenues in each year since tax revenues accrued from exploration and development.
§ Mr. DorrellNone. It is not the policy of this Government, or any other in recent history, to hypothecate tax revenue to particular projects.
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