U.K. OIL INDUSTRY SAID NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED The U.K. Offshore oil industry has suffered from last year's collapse in oil prices but should not sustain any permament damage, Minister of State for Energy Alick Buchanan-Smith said. The drilling, diving and supply vessels sectors had been most affected, Buchanan Snith told the House of Commons energy committee. He noted, however, that oil companies were still spending six mln stg a day to maintain North Sea production. He added that a report by the manpower services committee which said 14,000 jobs were lost in the industry in 1986 should be seen in the context of a total workforce of 300,000. Prices of North Sea Brent-grade crude dipped to a low of 8.50 dlrs a barrel last July from a peak of over 30 dlrs the previous November. They recovered to around 18 dlrs a barrel after last December's OPEC meeting and Brent traded today around 17.15 dlrs. Buchanan-Smith said the U.K. Has no intention of adopting OPEC style quotas, noting that Britian is an oil-consuming as well as an oil-producing nation.