Circle Oil the new Cairn Energy

Oiling wheels of trade in Middle East

THE first major trade mission of the new year will see a selection of Irish companies travel to the Middle East in an attempt to secure some of the rich cash reserves of the area.

Led by the Taoiseach and Enterprise Ireland, representatives of about 120 companies will travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of January in the hope of securing investment from the area.

The financial benefits of capitalising on the area are obvious - Saudi has 25pc of the oil reserves on the planet, while the UAE has 10pc.

A number of ministers are also expected to travel to the area in what will be the first push of 2007 for Enterprise Ireland.