Oil Pollution

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will meet local hon. Members to discuss the latest BHP oil pollution incident; [76582](2) if he will make a statement on the recent oil pollution incident on the beaches of Rhyl and Prestatyn. [76584]

[holding answer 15 March 1999]: An oil spill was reported from BHP' s Liverpool Bay Development on Saturday 6 March, following which small amounts of oil were deposited on beaches in Rhyll and Prestatyn. BHP has shut down oil and gas production from the development until the cause and circumstances of the incident are identified.My officials are working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in regard to this oil spill. The incident is being investigated by a DTI Inspector, and I will also ensure that an independent assessor conducts a review of the incident. I have told all concerned that I am looking for a thorough but prompt investigation.I wrote to the local hon. Members for the Vale of Clwyd, for Clwyd, West (Mr. Thomas) and for Delyn (Mr. Hanson) on 9 March informing them of this incident. I stated that I would continue to keep them in touch with developments I would be pleased to meet the hon. Members to discuss this incident.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all oil pollution incidents in the Irish Sea in the past 10 years, giving the size of the incident, the company responsible and the date. [76583]

[holding answer 15 March 1999]: The information relating to oil pollution incidents from offshore installations in the Irish Sea Basin over the last 10 years is as follows:

Date	Operator	Amount (tonnes)
1 March 1993	Hamilton	0.01
30 November 1993	British Gas	0.30
6 November 1995	British Gas	4.0
13 November 1995	BHP Petroleum	0.022
21 March 1996	British Gas	0.004
6 July 1996	British Gas	0.070
5 September 1996	British Gas	0.004
15 September 1996	British Gas	0.001
22 September 1996	British Gas	0.500
8 May 1997	British Gas	0.013
2 July 1997	British Gas	0.019
27 January 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.001
24 March 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.500
28 March 1998	British Gas	0.001
24 April 1998	BHP Petroleum	1.000
28 April 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.500
4 May 1998	British Gas	0.0151
12 May 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.500
14 June 1998	BHP Petroleum	46.00
20 June 1998	British Gas	0.0005
7 August 1998	British Gas	0.066
21 October 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.0019
1 November 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.042
29 November 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.001
11 December 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.010
15 December 1998	BHP Petroleum	0.010
6 March 1999¹	BHP Petroleum	¹0.83
9 March 1999	BHP Petroleum	0.010
Total		54.4315
¹ provisional—investigation ongoing

As an approximation 1 tonne = 1.25 cubic metres of oil.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will review the guidelines relating to oil pollution around the British coast following the new information about the effect of oil pollution of less than one part per billion. [76585]

[holding answer 15 March 1999]: This information comes from studies into the Exxon Valdez oil spillage which occurred in 1989. It will be reviewed and taken into account by my officials and their colleagues in other Government Departments when considering the potential threat of oil spills to fisheries and the marine environment.

Volume 327: debated on Wednesday 17 March 1999