ABSTRACT
In parallel with the preparations for the Petroleum and Submarine Pipelines Bill policy debates and related discussions with the industry continued apace, particularly on the subject of state participation. This did not feature prominently in the Bill, but both the Government and the oil companies were fully aware that this subject was probably the most important element of all the emerging policies. In the late summer of 1974 it was decided to establish a North Sea Oil Renegotiation Committee (NSRC) to progress matters. The Committee was a mixed Ministerial/Official one, chaired by the Secretary of State for Energy, and included senior representatives from the DEN, CPRS, Treasury, Inland Revenue, FCO, and the Law Officers’ Department. Before the Committee met it had been decided that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Mr Harold Lever, would lead the negotiations supported by the Paymaster General, Mr Edmund Dell, and the Minister of State for Energy, Lord Balogh.
