§ 17. Mr. BlizzardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the level of new capital investment in UK offshore oil and gas production to date this year. [2050]
§ Mr. AlexanderThe latest figures provided by the industry show capital investment in UK oil and gas production at some £860 million for the first quarter of 2001. This is 37 per cent. higher than investment in the first quarter of 2000, giving encouragement that the efforts of the Government/industry PILOT initiative are bearing fruit.