§ 45. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Prime Minister if he will instruct the Departments concerned, as a matter of urgency, to prepare plans for the laying of an oil-carrying pipeine from Iraq to the Mediterranean through Turkey to relieve the pressure of transport in the Suez Canal, with a view to requesting the permission of the countries concerned to execute such plans.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI have been asked to reply. The planning, finance and execution of oil pipeline projects such as that referred to by my hon. Friend are a matter for the commercial interests concerned, who invariably consult with the Governments of the countries through which the pipelines must pass. Discussions have, in fact, taken place recently between the Iraq Petroleum Company and interested Governments about the possibility of a pipeline from the oilfields of Northern Iraq through Turkish territory to the Mediterranean seaboard, and arrangements have been made for Her Majesty's Government to be kept informed as to their progress.