§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received the report that was being prepared by Mr. Macleod Matthews on the possible utilisation of British shale oil reserves as a source of crude oil; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. VarleyI have now received this report, which will be published in the near future. Mr. Macleod Matthews concludes that there does not appear to be a case for restarting the former Scottish shale oil industry by reason of the heavy capital costs that would be involved but572W that it is possible that deposits of shale elsewhere in the Unted Kingdom could be utilised economically at some future time. He has made a number of recommendations for the further consideration of particular topics. Without commitment at this stage, the Government will now study the report, giving due weight to environmental considerations.