from a Hull reader As the Guardian commented recently, in a most incisive editorial (Nov 23) on the politics of the North Sea natural gas, Richard Marsh, the Minister of Power, is involved in some crucial financial deals with the oil companies over the price of North Sea gas, Needless to say, the oil companies are doing all they can to get a high price fixed. The Guardian continued: "The argument has now developed to a point at which the Gas Council is challenging the oil companies ~ in effect - to justify their high price policy by disclosing the amount in their investment..." Mr, David Barran, deputy chairman of “hell, whose company, Shell/Esso, has made one of the largest finds of gas in the. . North Sea, “published for the first time two essential figures which make it possible to assess how much Shell/Esso can expect to make out of their North Sea enterprise, He estimated that the total output of the Shell/ Esso field as the equivalent of 1,000 million cubic feet a day for 15 years. And he said that his estimate of the total cost (operating costs plus capital invested) was £100 millions, of which £25 millions would be invested next year, What Mr,
Guardian comments: "By any ordinary business standard this is a very large return indeed, particularly as a part at least of the £100 million will be recoverable as an investment grant from the Board of Trade," According to a Financial Times report (December 12), the Gas Council "has now formulated its proposals for the price of North Sea gas, Amoco, its partner in the venture has been officially informed and the Shell/Esso partnership is aware of what Amoco has been told. The Council wants a scale which will enable it to pay 3d a therm for the first tranche of 100 million cubic feet a day from the field. This works out at 1,8d a therm for 500 million cubic feet a day, and both Amoco, a subsidi of Standard Oil of Indiana, and the Shell/Esso partnership are believed to be interested in selling quantities in excess of that figure. The Financial Times continues ominously: "some hard bargaining will be necess~ ary before an agreement can be reached." We all know that Mr. Marsh does not include nationalisation of Britain's natural gas on his agenda, He has gone out of his way to say so publicly. Nevertheless, the case for the Gas Council taking over Britain's North Sea gas resources is overwhelming; Mr. Marsh's only alternative is to guarantee the international oil cartels that they can go ahead and make their vast profit out of the British people,