§ 16. Mr. Forthasked the Secretary of State for Energy how many different companies will operate exploration licences following the recent ninth round of allocations; and how many of those companies will be acting as operators for the first time.
§ 20. Mr. Haywardasked the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received from smaller oil companies following the announcement of the ninth round of licence allocations.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe ninth round involved production licences. Thirty one companies received one or more awards as operator, three for the first time. Awards have been discussed at a number of meetings between Ministers and officials of this Department and individual oil companies. Generally, small companies did well.