§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy what he assesses to be the total value of the assets of the British Gas Corporation scheduled for sale; what is the oil interest in the North Sea and of the British National Oil Corporation in its upstream business operations; and what is the expected contribution to the public sector borrowing requirement.
§ Mr. Gray:I cannot comment on the value of BGC'S or BNOC's offshore oil operations, nor on the expected contribution to the public sector borrowing requirement. British Gas has the following interests in offshore oilfields.
Natural Gas (Transportation)
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will give the gas grid common carrier status for the purpose of transportation of natural gas from producers on the continental shelf to industrial consumers.
§ Mr. John Moore:I intend to introduce measures to ensure that private suppliers of gas have effective access to British Gas pipelines.