asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on shortages of BOP control fluids in the Scottish sector of the North Sea; and what precautionary steps to avoid blow-outs have been taken as a consequence.

Extensive inquiries of both oil companies and drilling contractors have revealed there is no problem at present regarding the availability of BOP fluid on offshore installations in the United Kingdom area of the Continental Shelf.It would be a breach of the regulations for any of the operators to drill, using a BOP that was not fully operational and fully safe.