§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on which countries, on present projections, will run out of gas reserves in the next 20 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 22 October 1992]: The rate at which gas reserves will be depleted depends on many factors including demand, development costs, prices, levels of imports and technological developments. My Department's latest assessment suggests that United Kingdom gas reserves will be sufficient to meet expected demand, including demand for power stations for at least this period. My Department does not carry out comparative assessments for other countries.