Brown heads for oil summit

On the eve of the summit of major oil-producing and consuming states, Saudi sources indicated that the world's largest oil exporter will increase production to a record 9.7 million barrels a day next month, to put downward pressure on prices, which have doubled to almost 140 US dollars a barrel over the past year.

But Mr Brown will tell the conference in Jeddah that he is not simply seeking the short-term fix of a boost in supply to cut prices at the pump, where British motorists are currently paying £1.20 for a litre of unleaded.

Instead, he will set out a four-point "New Deal" to help wean the industrialised world off expensive oil and allow Opec states to benefit from the move to more environmentally-friendly power sources.

And he will urge the oil-rich countries of the Gulf to invest some of the 3 trillion dollar profits they have amassed during the current oil shock in alternative power production in Britain - including a new generation of nuclear plants.

A draft final communique for the summit, circulated last night by Opec's current president Algeria, calls for greater financial market transparency and more exchanges of information about oil fundamentals and the actions of investment funds, suggesting that producer nations continue to blame speculation - rather than shortage of supply - for sky-high prices.

Mr Brown will say that the world needs to "alter the terms of debate about oil" by moving producers and consumers away from an adversarial relationship towards a mutually beneficial dialogue addressing long-term supply-and-demand issues.

This could see oil-rich nations recycling their profits into investments in alternative energy, like wind, solar and nuclear, to ensure them a continued income stream as the West moves away from climate change-causing fossil fuels in the future.

Speaking ahead of his trip, Mr Brown said: "I am going to Saudi to see if we can get a new deal between oil producers and the consumers: where oil producers will invest in countries like ours, and oil consumers like us with good companies with good technology and skills can invest in the oil-producing countries; where we can make credible commitments and the world can see we will reduce our dependence on oil and we will get demand and supply back into balance."

The Jeddah conference brings together heads of state and ministers from 35 countries, including Opec states, high energy-using Western countries like the UK and emerging economic giants like China and India, as well as top executives of 25 oil companies and seven international organisations.