• Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng received free hospitality from Saudi Aramco in January.
  • Kwarteng was flown around Saudi Arabia, courtesy of the majority state-owned energy firm.
  • Kwarteng lunched with Aramco executives, stayed at a company residence, and visited an oil field.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng accepted flights and hospitality from Saudi Aramco, the majority state-owned energy firm, while on a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Kwarteng visited Saudi Arabia in late January, flying to the country on a UK government-paid commercial flight on January 29.

But Kwarteng was flown within the kingdom by Saudi Aramco, the largest oil producer in the world.

UK government transparency registers say Kwarteng was flown to Dammam and stayed at an Aramco guesthouse there on January 30, before having lunch with the firm on January 31, flying to Jubail, and then to the capital, Riyadh. Kwarteng flew back to the UK on a commercial flight on February 1.

Saudi press reports say Kwarteng also visited Aramco's Shaybah oil field with the Saudi energy minister, although this is not logged in BEIS transparency records. The Shaybah oil field is more than 750km from Dammam. However, it does have its own airport, built and operated by Aramco. 

Photographs show Kwarteng at Shaybah posing with the Saudi energy minister, joining hands to hold the sun over the desert sands. They are also seen at a tent believed to be overlooking Aramco's complex at Shaybah.

 

UK government transparency releases do not explain how Kwarteng could have crossed Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter desert to make it to Shaybah – and then back to Jubail – without support from Aramco.

 

Kwarteng's acceptance of Aramco's hospitality has led to criticism from opposition MPs.

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, told Insider: "Kwasi Kwarteng has huge questions to answer. Who co-ordinated this trip? How much did it cost? What was discussed over 'lunch'? What were the Saudis' demands?

"We can't have a government minister in charge of climate policy who's glad-handing and jet-setting with Saudi Arabian oil giants.

"We're in a climate emergency – the extreme heat we're experiencing this week couldn't make that any more clear. And we know that we can't keep temperatures in check by greenlighting new climate-wrecking oil & gas fields.

"Government ministers and any prospective Tory leaders need to get their heads out of the Saudi Arabian sand, stop going cap-in-hand to tyrannical regimes begging for more emissions-busting oil, and commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground for good."

Kerry McCarthy, Labour's shadow minister for climate change, told Insider: "It's bad enough that Conservative energy policy failures mean the UK has to go cap in hand to fossil fuel dictators. Now the Secretary of State must clarify whether he allowed oil money to pay for him to dine out and jet around Saudi Arabia."

Questions are also being asked about whether the trip may constitute a breach of the ministerial code.

Susan Hawley, executive director at Spotlight on Corruption, told Insider: "As the ministerial code makes clear, UK ministers should clearly not be accepting hospitality and travel junkets when they make overseas visits from the likes of state-owned oil companies such as Saudi Aramco where there is any risk of undue obligations or influence being created.

"It is essential that the department release full details of these visits, what was discussed, and the purpose of the visit, with full costs of the hospitality and travel provided, so that the public can have confidence that no such undue obligations were created."

The code states: "When ministers travel on official business, their travel expenses should be borne by the departmental vote. Offers of free travel should not normally be accepted. The only exception to this is in the case of an offer of transport from an overseas government provided no undue obligation is created."

While Saudi Aramco is majority state-owned by the Saudi Arabian state, it is not part of the Saudi government.

A BEIS spokesperson told Insider: "Travel to and from Saudi Arabia was arranged by the British Government. These short, internal flights within Saudi Arabia were arranged by the Saudi government and have been properly and publicly declared, as is required."

No details of any other meetings held by Kwarteng in Saudi Arabia were published by BEIS. Saudi press reports Kwarteng had "introductory visits to several companies to learn about their most important products" while in Jubail.

Read the original article on Business Insider