asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 20 May (WA 187–8), what are the oil price projections calculated by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.[HL3838]

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform does not publish oil price projections. It publishes oil, gas and coal future price assumptions for the period till 2020, which are disseminated throughout Whitehall and where relevant are used by government departments in their analytical work.

The latest version of BERR's future fossil fuel price assumptions were published this month, following a consultation published in January. In order to capture some of the uncertainty around future oil prices, there are four illustrative scenarios: low, central, high and high-high. Further details are available at the following links at www.berr.gov.uk/energy/environment/projections /recent/page2639.html and www.berr.gov.uk/files/file46071.pdf.