{
  "id": 15971218,
  "title": "The \"trillion pound\" oil fund the government believes Britain could have built",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/the-trillion-pound-oil-fund-the-government-believes-britain-could",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-21T23:27:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Business",
    "slug": "bbc-business",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm4g1zrl2nrqo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "For the first time, the Treasury calculates how much the UK could have raised by investing North Sea proceeds.",
  "key_points": [
    "British government created £2.4tn Energy Wealth Fund",
    "Fund would have been trillion-pound asset in 1980s",
    "Chancellor John Healey announced domestic green energy investment"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "The 'trillion pound' oil fund the government believes Britain could have built",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/the-trillion-pound-oil-fund-the-government-believes-britain-could-15984683",
        "published": "2026-10-21T23:27:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}