The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources will participate in the international forum on environment and sustainable development due to be organized in Jeddah on March 07, 2010. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Assistant Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Petroleum Affairs, will chair the second session of the forum which will be held under the title of 'Oil and renewable energy: integration and not competition'. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman underlined the importance of the forum and said it embodies the great attention given by the Kingdom to the environment. He noted that oil and renewable energy are complementary elements, adding that oil will remain the major source of energy in the world for several decades to come due to the high cost of the renewable energy compared to the cost of the energy generated by fuel. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman pointed out that efforts are being exerted for the development of the sector of sciences and technology in the country, noting that King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology (KAUST) has been conducting researches for the development of solar energy as well as desalination of water by solar energy under the supervision of King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology (KACST). It is hoped that the forum will yield positive results and issue recommendations that contribute to boosting development projects pertaining to environmental protection, he added.
