§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the time when self-sufficiency will be attained following the build-up of offshore oil and gas supplies in the 1980s; and what part coal will play in reducing the oil import burden.
§ Mr. EadieIt is estimated that indigenous production of energy will first be sufficient to meet the United Kingdom's total primary energy requirements in 1980. By that time, coal production should have increased from 124 million tons in 1975–76 to about 130 million tons contributing about a third of total United Kingdom primary energy requirements.
§ Mr. David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the reserves of oil in that area of the North Sea assigned to the United Kingdom by the Geneva Convention of 1968, measured in tons of oil and in tons coal equivalent; and what is his latest estimate of the reserves of coal within the United Kingdom measured by the same degree of possibility as his estimate of oil reserves.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonEstimated total reserves of oil, economically and technically recoverable, in designated areas of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf are in the range 3,000–4,500 million tonnes—5,000–7,000 million tons of coal equivalent. Geological and technical differences rule out any strictly comparable estimates of coal reserves. However, proved economically and technically recoverable reserves of coal amount to about 6,000 million tons, including nearly 5,000 million tons of operating reserves at existing and committed pits. It is not at present practicable to assess how much more of the estimated total of 45,000 million tons of coal which is technically recoverable will in due course prove economically workable.