§ Mr. David Priceasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the contribution of North Sea gas and North Sea oil, respectively to the United Kingdom balance of payments in the current year.
§ Mr. Joel Barnett, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 12 March 1979], gave the following information:
154WIn an article in the economic progress report for October 1978, it was estimated that the direct and identifiable contribution of North Sea oil and gas to the current account of the balance of payments in 1979 would be about £4.5 billion in 1977 prices. The article, a copy of which is available in the Library, explains the methodology used in arriving at that estimate. It is not possible to show the effects of North Sea oil and gas separately because much of the associated expenditure with an import content is incurred in respect of both together.