A Middle Eastern investment fund that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year as an international adviser is in talks to develop one of Iraq's biggest oilfields. Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates investment firm, is in negotiations to join a consortium of western oil companies developing the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq. More than £6 billion of investment is required for the project. Blair has always insisted that the Iraq conflict was never linked to the country's vast oil reserves, but he was facing criticism this weekend over his role with Mubadala. The investment firm, which receives 80% of its revenues from oil and gas, in
A Middle Eastern investment fund that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year as an international adviser is in talks to develop one of Iraq's biggest oilfields.
Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates investment firm, is in negotiations to join a consortium of western oil companies developing the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq. More than £6 billion of investment is required for the project.
Blair has always insisted that the Iraq conflict was never linked to the country's vast oil reserves, but he was facing criticism this weekend over his role with Mubadala. The investment firm, which receives 80% of its revenues from oil and gas, in
Guardian version here.
What caught my eye is here
But the Crown Estate will not require developers to source a proportion of the turbines and other components from domestic manufacturers unlike other countries, including Spain and China. The paucity of Britain's low carbon industry was exposed last year, when Dutch firm Vestas closed England's only turbine manufacturing plant. A spokeswoman for the Crown Estate said the government body, which owns the UK's seabed, was holding a supply chain roadshow for British manufacturers around the country, starting later this month. Working with regional development authorities, companies will be informed what components will be needed by the energy companies to help British industry benefit from the construction programme.
The paucity of Britain's low carbon industry was exposed last year, when Dutch firm Vestas closed England's only turbine manufacturing plant.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Estate said the government body, which owns the UK's seabed, was holding a supply chain roadshow for British manufacturers around the country, starting later this month. Working with regional development authorities, companies will be informed what components will be needed by the energy companies to help British industry benefit from the construction programme.
The UK hasn't had a wind manufacturing industry for decades, period. Vestas didn't shut a manufacturing plant, it shut a blade facility which had been unsuccessful. Blade plants are the easiest in the industry to establish anywhere in the world, as already done.
UK offshore is very important for the future, but there is nothing more important than the immediate reestablishment of STRONG activity in the onshore sphere. Without that you don't get experienced experts, and the supply chain for offshore takes longer to establish. Fer crissakes, the UK doesn't even have the level of resource assessment skills that No. Europe has, much less skilled service engineers and techs. That comes from building turbines on land, period.
The UK is a blind dog with its olfactory nerves removed, thinking it hears other dogs rooting around for bones. Morning, all. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
