§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the Government's policy on the export of North Sea oil.
§ Mr. David HowellThe Government continue to expect that oil companies exporting North Sea crude will do so in the markets of our partners in the International Energy Agency and in the European Community. This expectation in no way cuts across the maintenance, to the extent possible, of any existing patterns of trade outside those regions.
§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he 186W has made of the production of oil from the North Sea in 1979 and in each of the following 10 years; and what estimate he has made of oil consumption in 1979 and in each of the following 10 years.
§ Mr. David HowellEstimates of production of oil from the United Kingdom continental shelf are published annually in the report of the development of the oil and gas resources of the United Kingdom. They cover production for the year of the 1979 report, which I hope to lay before Parliament in July.
A forecast for 1979 oil consumption of 96 million tones, which includes non-energy uses and marine bunkers, was published in my Department's Energy Trends monthly publication. This forecast does not include the effect of oil-saving measures being implemented as the United Kingdom's contribution to the IEA's objective of reducing oil demand in member States by 5 per cent. in 1979. Future oil demand will oil and the availability of supplies of other fuels, all of which are subject to considerable uncertainty.