asked the Secretary of State for Energy how many platforms are presently producing oil off the United Kingdom coastline; how many rigs are being developed in the same areas; how many barrels of oil each platform produces each day; and when the supplies of each platform are expected to run out
There are currently 19 oil-producing platform installations on the United Kingdom continental shelf. A further seven rigs are being developed in the same area. Offshore crude oil production figures for each field for the year 1979 are as follows:
| Field | million tonnes |
| Argyll | 0·8 |
| Auk | 0·8 |
| Beryl | 4·7 |
| Brent | 8·8 |
| Claymore | 4·0 |
| South Cormorant | 0·04 |
| Dunlin | 5·7 |
| Forties | 24·5 |
| Heather | 0·8 |
| Montrose | 1·3 |
| Ninian | 7·7 |
| Piper | 13·2 |
| Statfjord United Kingdom | 0·04 |
| Thistle | 3·9 |
| TOTAL | 76·5 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000 tonnes, except for the South Cormorant and Statfjord United Kingdom fields which started production late in 1979. Production of heavier natural gases, condensates and onshore crude brings the total of United Kingdom continental shelf and onshore oil production for 1979 up to above 77·9 million tonnes.
Production from each platform will cease when it is uneconomic to continue; estimates of the dates when this will occur are commercially confidential.