HC Deb 13 November 1981 vol 12 cc209-10W
Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how the price of Saudi Arabian light crude compares with that of North Sea light crude.

Mr. Gray

Following an OPEC meeting on 29 October the official price of Saudi Arabian light is now $34 per barrel. The British National Oil Corporation, which is the largest trader of United Kingdom CS crude oil, has suggested to companies that the price of United Kingdom Forties oil should now be set at $36.50 per barrel. The difference between the Saudi and Forties prices reflects differences in quality and location.

Mr. Nicholas Winterton

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when the Government anticipate that North Sea Oil will run out.

Mr. Gray

We expect oil production from the United Kingdom continental shelf to increase to a peak in the mid-1980s and then to decline. The rate of decline will depend on the extent and nature of further discoveries, on future levels of demand and on oil prices, and cannot therefore be forecast with any certainty.