§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what research her Department has commissioned into the use of coal as a clean source of energy; and how much money the Government are planning to spend on this research. [21291]
§ Mr. BattleI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Mr. Taylor) on 6 June 1997,Official Report, column 276.
My Department has undertaken a detailed review of the UK's future clean coal technology requirements in consultation with industry and universities. This review has just been completed and examined what further support the Government should provide to clean coal 124W technology research, development and demonstration. An announcement will be made about the outcome of the review once Ministers have had time to consider the review's recommendations alongside those arising from the Department's wider Comprehensive Spending Review exercise.
§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how much coal, gas oil and electricity has been imported into the United Kingdom in the calendar years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997; and how much she estimates will be imported in 1998, 2008, and 2018; and for each of these years, what estimate she has made of the cost of the imports of each of these energy sources. [21274]
§ Mr. BattleThe latest available information is as follows. Data are only available up to and including the third quarter of 1997. Similar data for the years 1998, 2008 and 2018 are not available. The previous Administration published energy projections for the UK as Energy Paper 65 in March 1995, which is available in the Libraries of both Houses. While these projections implicitly included the contribution from imports to the UK's energy supply, projections of imports themselves were not separately made.
It should be borne in mind that the UK also exports fuels, and has been a net exporter of fuels in both volume and value terms in each year since 1993. In 1996, net exports of fuels benefited the UK Balance of Payments by £4.2 billion. Indications are that net exports of fuels will benefit the UK economy by a similar amount in 1997.
Volume of imports of fuels into the UK Million tonnes of oil equivalent 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Q1 to Q3 1997 Coal and other solid fuels 14.2 13.0 10.8 11.5 12.7 11.1 Crude oil and oil products 73.6 75.4 67.6 61.5 62.6 46.2 Natural gas 5.5 4.3 3.0 1.3 1.4 1.0 Electricity 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.0 Total 94.7 94.2 82.9 75.7 78.2 59.2
Value of imports of fuels into the UK £ million 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Q1 to Q3 1997 Coal and other solid fuels 744 731 598 601 694 554 Crude oil and oil products 5,456 5,844 7,930 4,778 5,857 3,845 Natural gas 397 327 231 105 117 72 Electricity 369 426 388 408 391 289 Total 6,965 7,328 6,148 5,892 7,059 4,760 Source:
Volumes—Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1997 and Energy Trends.
Values—HM Customs and Excise.
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§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the known extent of the United Kingdom's indigenous sources of coal, gas and oil; and what is her estimate, based on present consumption levels, of when each will run out. [21272]
§ Mr. BattleRemaining reserves in present discoveries of oil on the UK Continental Shelf at the end of 1996 are estimated to be up to 2,025 million tonnes. For gas the estimate is 1,960 billion cubic metres. These existing reserves, at 1996 depletion rates, could last for 16 and 22 years respectively. However, additional reserves continue to be discovered each year, and it is therefore likely that production of oil and gas will continue beyond these dates. Allowing for the full potential from as yet undiscovered reserves raises the estimates of reserves to 5,075 million tonnes of oil and 3,795 billion cubic metres of gas. At 1996 depletion rates, total oil and gas reserves could thus last for 39 and 42 years respectively. However these estimates are highly uncertain and future depletion rates will be affected by prices and the utilisation of the UK-Belgium gas interconnector which will provide opportunities for sales into Europe.
For coal, the remaining reserves at existing mines, which could be extracted economically, were estimated to be around 1 billion tonnes at the end of 1994, sufficient for 20 years at current rates of production. However, additional coal reserves in the UK are substantial and their availability and rate of depletion will depend on future energy prices and the demand for coal.