Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to monitor the amount of available capacity in the UKOP, GPSS and MLP UK pipeline systems.

Both the UKOP and MLP pipeline systems are privately owned and operated. Currently there are no statutory provisions that require private pipeline owners and operators to make available commercial information on spare capacity.

The GPSS is a government owned pipeline and DECC is able to obtain information regarding available capacity on request.

Following the recent cross- government review of the role of both the UK refining and import sectors in UK, and in recognition of pipe-line access being cited as an issue by some stakeholders, the new independently chaired Midstream Oil Government and Industry Task Force will take forward further work on this issue.