§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the distance over which concrete oil production platforms have to be towed from their construction sites on the west coast of Scotland to the oilfield in the North Sea; by how much this could be reduced if basic hydrographic data were available to permit use of an inshore route; and what would be the saving in cost and time.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonThe distance from the designated sea area in the Inner Sound of Raasay to the area of the Brent, Cormorant and Ninian oilfield complex is about 450 nautical miles when going west and north of the Shetlands. The inner route, south and east of the Shetlands, is about 370 nautical miles. The time and cost saved by using the inner route would depend on the size of the platform and the number of tugs used.