Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005.   

Two major issues are identified in the order: first, the current level of oil production, and, secondly, the level of discharge into the North Sea. As the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, has explained, both issues have an impact on the environment, about which we are concerned. One might argue that no oil should be produced, but that is not feasible. The industry has achieved a 33 per cent reduction in six years and has been asked to achieve another reduction of 15 per cent between 2000 and 2006. The industry has expressed the view that that will cost more than £100 million. There has been no clear indication why the regulation is needed, other than that it is nice to have good environmental regulation and minimal pollution. There is an acknowledgement of the bigger problem of oil being discharged from rivers into the North Sea. What action is the Minister’s department and other departments taking to deal with that issue? Notes have been circulated by the industry that mention the need to consult small businesses as well. The Government claim that no small business is involved with the North Sea. However, having talked to my colleague in the other place who represents a constituency in the area where North Sea oil is produced, he is of the opinion that many small businesses are so involved, and that a significant additional cost on a few operators could have unintended consequences for other areas of contracts or business and thereby could affect small businesses. What consideration have the Government given to the oil price in applying the regulation? It is important that   the Minister demonstrates that his department understands the competitiveness of the industry internationally. The Minister mentioned the OSPAR convention. The OSPAR convention includes Norway; by definition, because it is the Oslo-Paris convention. For our purposes, Norway is the main comparator, although there are operations in the Dutch and Danish sectors. What standards are being applied in the Norwegian sector? That would be a direct comparison. We are entitled to ask about the justification for the   regulation. Does the Minister accept the cost implications that I have been talking about? Will he review them? How do they compare to the conditions applied on operators in other comparable sectors, particularly the Norwegian sector?