Houston (Platts)--29May2009

US President Barack Obama plans to elaborate to Saudi Arabia's King
Abdullah next week on how the US wants to pursue an expansion of green energy
alternatives.
     The meeting, scheduled to take place in Riyadh during a Middle East trip
by Obama that also includes a visit to Egypt, was announced earlier this week.
     On Thursday, Obama said he would discuss with Abdullah how the US is
looking to "advance clean energy" as a means of stabilizing energy prices and
controlling greenhouse gases. He would not be framing such an advancement of
alternative energy supplies as a means of cutting US oil imports, he added.
     "I'll be very honest with King Abdullah, with whom I've developed a good
relationship, indicating to him that we're not going to be eliminating our
need for oil imports in the immediate future; that's not our goal.  What our
goal has to be is to advance the clean energy solutions in this country that
can strengthen our economy, put people back to work, diversify our energy
sources. 
     "And, you know, interestingly enough, you're seeing the Saudis make
significant investments, both in their own country and outside of their
country, in clean energy as well, because I think they recognize that... we
have a finite supply of oil. There are going to be a whole host of countries
like China and India that have huge populations [that] need to develop
rapidly. 
     "If everybody is dependent solely on oil as opposed to energy sources
like wind and solar, if we are not able to figure out ways to sequester carbon
and that would allow us to use coal in a non-polluting way, if we don't
diversify our energy sources, then all of us are going to be in trouble. And
so I don't think that will be a difficult conversation to have."
--Katharine Fraser, katharine_fraser@platts.com