§ Mr. Alexander Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has issued any further consents under Model Clause 21(3) of the terms of petroleum production licences.
§ Mr. BennConsent has been given for the flaring of surplus gas from Montrose, one of the smaller offshore oilfields where the quantity of gas produced in association with the oil is relatively small by North Sea standards.
Studies of all possible alternative means of utilising the surplus gas have been undertaken, including reinjection into the producing reservoir and collection by a possible future, common user, gas gathering pipeline system. Reservoir engineering studies have shown that gas injection into the reservoir, even for a few years, would cause oil production to suffer, leading to a reduction in total oil recovery. The recently announced independent consultants' study of the potential for common user gas gathering systems concluded that the gas from Montrose should be excluded from any future system. The relatively small quantities of gas combined with the intermittent nature of gas availability due to breaks in oil production because of the offshore loading system would be outside the economic limits that a gas gathering scheme could support.
I am satisfied that none of the alternatives offer a feasible or viable solution to this gas utilisation problem, and that short of stopping oil production it is necessary to allow the operator to flare surplus gas from the start of Montrose oil production. Consent has been limited to a period of two years and I shall continue to keep the situation under review in case new alternatives for the utilisation of this gas become available.