§ Mr. Adam Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he has been consulted by Shell on its plans to export liquefied petroleum gas from the Brent field to the United States of America.
§ Mr. John SmithYes. The contract for the export of Brent propane and butanes to a United States customer covers a 10-year period from 1979 and will substantialy benefit the United Kingdom balance of payments. Shell's production of Brent ethane, a potentially valuable petrochemical feedstock, is not included in the contract, and the company has told me that its plans are based on the disposal of this ethane as chemical feedstock in the United Kingdom.