BRIAN WILSON, the Energy Minister, said that Britain will become heavily dependent on imported natural gas and gave warning that reliance on renewable energy would not be enough to power Britain in the future.

Mr Wilson believes that more needs to be done to ensure that the infrastructure and contracts are in place to supply Britain with enough gas.

Speaking ahead of the publication of the Government’s Energy White Paper next week, the Energy Minister predicted that 70 per cent of Britain’s electricity would be generated from gas by 2020 and 90 per cent of the fuel would need to be imported.

He said: “You can say we can do better on renewables and you can say look at nuclear, but we are going to be very dependent on imported gas.”

Mr Wilson’s comments come after rumours that the Government’s White Paper is likely to water down a previous target that renewable sources of energy account for a fifth of power generation by 2020.

The Energy Minister, who is in Algeria discussing the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas to Britain, said that the issue of future gas supply should not be overlooked.

“It won’t happen on its own volition,” he said.

Discussions with Sonatrach, the Algerian state oil and gas company, are taking place as the minister seeks to agree a treaty between Norway and Britain over gas supply.

Negotiations have been marred by a quarrel over the pipeline needed to import gas to Britain.

BP and other owners of gas pipelines in the UK North Sea are opposing a plan by Norway’s Statoil to build a new 1,200-kilometre pipe linking the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea to Easington on the east coast of England.

British companies want the Norwegians to use existing UK pipes to bring the gas ashore.

Mr Wilson said that Algeria could offer another source of gas.