§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest estimate of the production potential of North Sea oil by 1980; what will be the likely production in barrels per day; and what estimate he has made of the capital cost of each barrel produced.
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§ Mr. John SmithPotential annual production in 1980 is estimated at between 100 and 130 million tons, or an average of 2 million to 2.6 million barrels a day. The cost of production of North Sea oil varies between fields. For the fields currently under development it probably lies between $2 and $6 per barrel.
§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether the new North Sea oil strikes are likely to be some years in coming into significant production; and whether such oil produced will greatly reduce the United Kingdom's dependence on imports.
§ Mr. John SmithTwenty-three new discoveries of oil have been made on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf since the beginning of the year. It is unlikely that all of them will prove to be commercially viable, and a further period of technical and economic appraisal will be necessary before decisions to develop can be taken. Oil from those that are developed should after about 1980 make an increasing contribution to our trade balance.
§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current estimated yield of possible reserves of North Sea oil in the explored potential oil-bearing structures.
§ Mr. John SmithThe table on page 14 of the report to Parliament on the development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom—the "Brown Book"—shows that the proportion of our total possible reserves of oil—3,000 million to 4,500 million tons—accounted for by existing finds was estimated at 1,800 million tons. Discoveries made since that date will be likely to increase that figure.