Commodity Online
JEDDAH : In a significant development on Sunday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged 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 an emergency oil summit in Jeddah, Brown unveiled plans to work with Saudi Arabia on technology to capture carbon emissions from energy plants and with the United Arab Emirates on nuclear technology.

He told reporters 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 rich 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 renewable were the focus for Britain.