Business | Oil & Gas
UK to open energy market to foreign investors
Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged on Sunday to open Britain's energy markets to foreign investors in a "new deal" designed to promote clean energy and end a conflict of interest between oil producers and consumers.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:54 June 22, 2008
- Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abul Aziz addressing the opening session of the summit. King Abdullah opened the meeting by saying his country had boosted output to 9.7 million per day in a bid to defuse the energy crisis.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Jeddah: Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged on Sunday to open Britain's energy markets to foreign investors in a "new deal" designed to promote clean energy and end a conflict of interest between oil producers and consumers.
At the summit in Jeddah, Brown unveiled plans to work with Saudi Arabia on technology to capture carbon emissions from energy plants and with the UAE on nuclear technology.
He said that Britain and Qatar were looking at a new joint energy fund to invest in British energy industries, and that talks with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority about investment opportunities in Britain were moving forward.
"We want them to invest in alternative sources of energy in our economies, just as we want them to allow our efficient oil companies to have a role to play in the oil production of the oil producing countries," Brown said.
He said earlier this year that Britain was open to investment from the huge sovereign wealth funds run by oil producers.
Little concrete has been announced, however, and he did not elaborate on plans forged with the Gulf states, except to make clear nuclear energy and renewables were the focus for Britain.
"The new deal is that everybody has an interest in a more stable energy market, everybody has an interest in there being alternatives to oil, everybody has an interest in there being a better and more efficient use of oil," Brown said.
Like some other leaders of developed nations, Brown's popularity has taken a hit as voters grapple with a slowing economy, a squeeze on bank lending, falling house prices and accelerating inflation - driven by fuel and food prices.
The oil price has more than doubled in a year to almost $140 a barrel, triggering protests from Brussels to Bangkok over record fuel costs that threaten the world's economy.
Britain is also striving to meet targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It reckons it will need investment of up to £100 billion in renewable energy to meet those goals, and the government sees sovereign wealth funds as a valuable source.
On Saturday, Britain's Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said the government would unveil a "green revolution" next week which aims at getting 15 per cent of the country's energy from renewables by 2020 - up from less than five per cent now.
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