The "trillion pound" oil fund the government believes Britain could have built
For the first time, the Treasury calculates how much the UK could have raised by investing North Sea proceeds.
The British government has recently introduced an $2.4tn oil fund that could have been created decades ago, according to internal Treasury calculations. Chancellor John Healey announced the creation of the Energy Wealth Fund, diverting £2bn from the existing National Wealth Fund. This fund would have been worth a trillion pounds if established during the North Sea oil discovery in the 1980s, had the UK's historic oil revenues been wisely invested.
Norway's success with their fund, which began in earnest in 1996, serves as an example of the benefits of long-term investment. Despite the UK's potential, the government plans to invest domestically in green energy, a strategy that may struggle to match Norway's performance due to dwindling North Sea revenues.
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