Offshore Installations (Hansard, 13 May 1980)

§ Mr. Gray

In 1979, orders totalling £2,679 million were placed for goods and services for the United Kingdom continental shelf oil and gas developments. Of these, £2,111 million or 79 per cent. was placed in the United Kingdom. The

AN ANALYSIS OF ORDERS PLACED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FOR GOODS AND SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENTS OFFSHORE DURING 1979
	Value of orders placed (£ million)
Sector	Total	United Kingdom share	United Kingdom percentage ^*
Exploration
A. Surveying	18	14	78 (73)
B. Exploration and appraisal drilling	59	17	29 (19)
Sub-total	77	31	40 (27)
Development
C. Production platforms	1,116	941	84 (74)
D. Installation operations	175	123	70 (41)
E. Plant and equipment	162	119	73 (74)
F. Submarine pipelines	96	34	35 (38)
G. Development drilling	59	41	69 (70)
H. Terminals	434	427	98 (85)
Sub-total	2,042	1,685	83 (70)
Production
I. Maintenance	146	133	91 (73)
Sub-total	146	133	91 (73)
General Services (excluded wherever possible from A-I above)
J. Transport	109	81	74 (84)
K. Diving and underwater services	37	23	62 (77)
L. Drilling tools and equipment	76	47	62 (52)
M. Support of personnel offshore	81	29	36 (30)
N. Miscellaneous	111	82	74 (33)
Sub-total	414	262	63 (63)
Grand total	2,679	2,111	79 (66)
^* 1978 percentages in brackets.

The United Kingdom share represents the value of the contracts and main sub-contracts placed with companies which through employment, manufacturing or subcontracting make a substantial contribution to the United Kingdom economy. The main purpose of the returns is to monitor the flow of orders in respect of United Kingdom continental shelf activity and the share of orders gained within the United Kingdom. They are designed to fit in, so far as possible, with the normal recording processes of the offshore operating companies and cannot deal in detail with what is imported and what is home produced.

The value of orders and expenditure data are not directly comparable for a number of reasons including the facts that the expenditure resulting from an order is often spread over a number of years varying as it progresses due to inflation and other causes and that the allocation of orders between categories is difficult because of subcontracts that flow from the main order.