§ 56. Mr. Douglasasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will 156W list on an annual basis the amount paid by companies in the form of licence fees, royalties and taxation on the basis of their operation in the British sector of the Continental Shelf.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanProvisional estimates are that during the first six months of 1972–73 the receipts from licence fees and royalties will amount to about£10 million.
Fuller particulars and those for earlier years are contained in Table 5 of the Report to Parliament on North Sea Oil and Gas of January 1973, copies of which are available in the Vote Office. I am informed that profits from production have been covered by various reliefs including allowances for exploration expenditure and capital expenditure on production facilities and that no taxation payments have been made by companies in relation to gas or oil production in the British sector of the Continental Shelf.