§ r. David Howellasked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates his Department has made of the impact on changes in the United States dollar—pound sterling exchange rate on the gross returns of oil companies producing crude oil in the North sea over the last six months to 1 March.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithMy Department does not make estimates of the gross returns or receipts to oil companies involved in UKCS production over any six-monthly period. It is concerned with the returns to individual fields over their production life. The influence of recent exchange rate movements on the Department's calculations can only be considered in the context of the productive life of the field.