§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the names and qualifications of the members of the Offshore Energy Technology Board, the board's terms of reference and its budget for 1975–76, showing the main areas of activity and expenditure.
§ Mr. BennWith regard to the membership of the Offshore Energy Technology Board, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mr. Craigen), on 6th May 1975—[Vol. 891, c. 427–8]. The members of the board, under the chairmanship of Dr. Marshall, Chief Scientist in my Department, were chosen for the individual contribution that they will be able to make and are qualified by their background experience and position. The OETB's terms of reference are as follows
To advise and assist the Secretary of State for Energy on how best to evaluate, promote and secure technological developments leading to improvements in:
- (i) the efficient and economic exploitation of the oil and gas resources on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf;
203 - (ii) the standards laid down by the Department in pursuance of its statutory responsibilities for safety; and
- (iii) the competitiveness of British industry in the field of offshore oil and gas.
In particular, the Board will:
- (a) identify those areas which, on grounds of safety and/or commercial opportunity, will most benefit by research and development support by the Department of Energy,
- (b) advise on the objectives, priorities and balance of research and development programmes to support the Department's policies within the broad allocation of funds available, and
- (c) review progress made."
The Department's budget for research and development work in this area for the financial year 1975–76 is £5.6 million. Of this some £1.9 million represents the Department's contribution to the geological survey of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf being undertaken by the Institute of Geological Sciences. The greater part of the remainder, amounting to some £3 million, is expected to be spent on various projects related to the Department's statutory responsibilities for safety in the field of offshore oil and gas. The areas of research covered include the collection of environmental data, the calculation of wind, wave and current loadings on offshore structures, materials technology and the determination of the properties of seabed soils as foundations for offshore structures. The rest of the work relates more specifically to projects designed to assist United Kingdom industry in the offshore field.