§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what action his Department is taking to follow up the Macleod Matthews Oil Shale Report published in 1975.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MahonEven at present oil price levels it seems unlikely that crude oil production from United Kingdom shales will become commercially feasible, at least in this decade. Neverthless, in the longer-term national interest my Department is commissioning the Natural Environment Research Council to follow up a recently completed pilot study with a progressive survey of onshore Kimmeridge Clay oil shales. My Department is also arranging for the economic and environmental aspects of shale oil operations to be studied. Collectively these actions will help to ensure that it will be possible to take informed decisions on the potential availability of shale oil should the need ever arise.