Mr. O'NeillTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many blocks were initially nominated by oil companies for offer under the 14th round of offshore licensing; and how many of these blocks the Government finally decided should not be issued after consultation with the statutory and non-statutory bodies.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 18 February 1993]: Some 700 blocks were nominated for inclusion in the round; a total of 484 were offered. Of the remaining 200 or so the majority were not offered as a result of consultation, although in some cases the nomination was not maintained.