US energy secretary to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE

US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson today starts a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, which is the first visit by a US energy secretary in nine years.

This visit comes at a time when Riyadh studies the possibility of opening its energy sector before US oil companies, a matter which will provide the best investment opportunities since the nationalization of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s.

The US government and industrial sources said that Richardson will not sign during his visit any trade agreements in the area of energy investments because the Saudis have not finished studying offers proposed by US oil companies.

On Sunday, Richardson will head for Abu Dhabi for a short visit to the UAE, during which he will hold talks with UAE Oil Minister Obeid bin Youssef al-Naseri on "cooperation between the UAE and the US in the fields of petrochemicals and natural gas."