§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy when reserves of British gas are likely to run out on current consumption levels.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe 1991 Brown Book (Development of the Oil and Gas Resources of the United Kingdom; a report to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Energy) showed the estimated remaining gas reserves of the UKCS to lie in the range 963–3345 billion cubic metres (bcm). Total consumption in 1990 was estimated at approximately 59 bcm. Over the last decade additions to reserves have exceeded consumption: the 1981 Brown Book showed264W estimated reserves in the range 750–2150 bcm. The United Kingdom will remain a major producer of gas well into the next century.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will identify the consumption levels of British gas for the next century in 10-yearly periods.
§ Mr. MoynihanMy Department published a range of scenarios of United Kingdom energy consumption (up to 2020) based on oil price assumptions supplied by the intergovernmental group on climate change in Energy Paper number 58. A copy of this paper has been placed in the Library of the House.