HC Deb 01 March 1996 vol 272 c753W
Mrs. Ewing

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much was spent by(a) the previous Department of Energy and (b) the Department of Trade and Industry on research work into the decommissioning of fixed installations in the North sea in the past five years. [17840]

Mr. Eggar

Research into the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf is funded primarily by industry. In the past five years neither the Department of Energy nor the Department of Trade and Industry has commissioned research related directly to decommissioning. My Department is currently considering the scope of a generic study relating to the best practicable environmental option for the decommissioning of installations in the southern sector of the North sea.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to publish new guidelines pertaining to decommissioning of North sea installations in the oil and gas sector; and what estimate has been made of the number of fixed installations requiring to be decommissioned up to 2005. [17839]

Mr. Eggar

I expect to publish guidance notes for industry on the decommissioning of offshore installations after I have had the opportunity to consider the report of the House of Lords Science and Technology sub-committee II on the subject.

Depending upon field performance and economic factors at the time, current estimates indicate that some 40 fixed offshore installations on the UK continental shelf could be decommissioned by 2005.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much his Department intends to spend on research into the removal of drill workings in the North sea. [17838]

Mr. Eggar

A study has recently been commissioned to assess the environmental implications of the presence of drilling cuttings piles. The cost of this study will be shared by Government and industry. Future research into the removal of drill cuttings in the North sea will be influenced by the findings of the study and funds will be made available as required. The Government do not expect to incur high expenditure as the research should be primarily funded by industry.