§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent oil discoveries have been announced by those operating in the North Sea; and if he will now state a revised figure for expected production from the Scottish sector of the North Sea by 1980.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanThe answer to the hon. Member's Question of 25th July listed seven oilfields in which commercial quantities of oil had been found. Since then the commercial development of two further fields has been planned, Thistle (block 211/18) and Montrose (22/18). Encouraging new discoveries 367W have been reported in blocks 3/14 (Alwyn), 211/28 (Hutton) and 2/5 but further drilling will be necessary to determine their commercial potential.
Production from the United Kingdom sector of the Continental Shelf in 1980 is still expected to be within the range 70 million-100 million tons.