§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) when he expects to receive the abandonment programme for the North West Hutton platform; and if he will make a statement; [2045]
(2) if he will list the abandonment programmes for off-shore installations, deposited with his Department in each of the past five years; how many were (a) accepted; (b) rejected and (c) returned to the companies concerned for modification; and if he will make a statement. [2046]
§ Mr. EggarAmoco (UK) Exploration Company, the operator of the North West Hutton installation, has been conducting studies since 1992 in connection with the future decommissioning of this installation. The decommissioning date for this installation will depend on a number of factors. I am not yet in a position to say when I will be calling on the owners to submit a programme.
We have approved the following abandonment programmes for offshore installations in each of the past five years:
Year Facility 1991 Crawford 1992 Argyll, Duncan and Innes Blair 1993 Angus Forbes 1994 Fulmar Single Anchor Leg Mooring (SALM) buoy Brent Spar oil storage and tanker loading facility 1995 Esmond (2 installations) and Gordon Each of these programmes was approved after a series of discussions with my Department and consultation with interested parties. No abandonment programme has been rejected or modified under section 4 of the Petroleum Act 1987.