Gordon Brown to 'crusade' against fuel cost with oil producers

Published: Friday June 13th, 2008.

Gordon Brown is to embark on a personal crusade to help to bring down the soaring price of oil after announcing plans to travel to the Middle East to co-host an emergency meeting of leading oil producers.

The Prime Minister said that the only way to crack the problem, with the price hovering yesterday at $135 a barrel, was for governments to work together at an international level.

Mr Brown said that he had persuaded King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia to host a summit in Jedda next weekend. “I strongly welcome this initiative and will travel to Jedda in order to launch it with King Abdullah,� Mr Brown said at his monthly press conference yesterday.

“I have proposed to the King that, if necessary, I will be happy to convene a follow-up summit at heads of government level, and have offered London as a venue,� he said.

The Prime Minister's push is part of a multi-pronged attack that he said was designed to reduce the world's “addiction to oil�.

His move came as the Treasury gave warning that oil prices could rise to $180 per barrel next year. It also said that world oil production would need to increase by 14 per cent — or 12 million barrels a day — from 86 million “to avoid a supply crunch� by 2015.

Mr Brown said energy prices would be at the top of his agenda with President Bush, who is visiting Britain next week. On Tuesday Mr Brown meets the Prime Minister of Norway, a country that is a key source of gas for Britain.

He also pledged to place rising commodity costs at the forefront of discussions in the forthcoming EU Council in Brussels, and the G8 summit scheduled for next month in Japan.

In recent months Mr Brown has appealed to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to increase supplies.

Sourced by Frank Boampong