§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy how much secondary refining capacity would be required to accommodate United Kingdom North Sea production; and what is the amount of such capacity (a) on stream, (b) under construction and (c) projected.
§ Mr. GrayThe amount of North Sea crude oil which our refineries can use depends on a wide range of factors including its price relative to other crudes, the availability of other types of crude with which it is mixed, the products desired and the refinery plant. It is not therefore possible to give a figure for the amount of secondary refining capacity required to accommodate our North Sea production. At present United Kingdom refineries have secondary con-version (cracking) capacity to process about 16 million tonnes of feedstock annually. This is expected to increase to 24 million tonnes by the early 1980s and further projects are expected to come forward beyond this.