Oil empire plan is unveiled

Robin Mason, who claims to be partner in Lapsville Oil, together with a sheikh from the United Arab Emirates, this week unveiled a dramatic £800 billion plan for an oil refinery and transportation empire.

The business will be run from 10 man-made offshore islands around the world. The first of these, some 18 km long, is planned for the UK - built off the coastline of the Wash with stone brought by sea from Iceland.

"The islands will all be outside territorial waters," said Mason. "The tax advantages are big." Included in Lapsville's list are islands off the coasts of Pakistan, Portugal, Brazil, Namibia, USA, China and Australia. They will all house new oil refineries.

Tracked down to a public telephone box in Buckingham Palace Road, Mason explained he currently spends much of his time waiting for an interview with The Queen. "I need the documents from her, acting on behalf of the Crown Commissioners, to allow the go-ahead for the island off the Wash," Mason explained. "That will unlock the entire £800 billion project."

To boost transportation, Laps-ville plans to build a £6 billion highway across Russia, running 4,500 miles from Moscow to Siberia. "I hope to start before the end of the year," Mason said in London this week.

The two lanes of the proposed motorway, each wide enough for 10 lanes of traffic, will run in a straight line from the capital of Russia to the Baring Sea. In addition, Mason plans a four-track railway alongside the road plus six pipelines.

"I'm an entrepreneur in construction," said Mason, "and trading in oil was my last job. My company, Lapsville Oil, is registered in the United Arab Emirates. There are two partners in Lapsville, myself and the sheik."

In addition to building the trans-Siberian highway, Mason plans to construct a similar modern infrastructure across the face of Canada, running from Alaska to Fairbanks, Fort Nelson and Vancouver.

A further £6 billion has been earmarked for a new Panama Canal. More than 700m wide and 90km long, it will be "salt water to salt water", explained Mason who will avoid the need for locks by blasting directly through mountains. The spoil will be taken out to sea and used for one of Lapsville's five islands on its follow-up list, the Panama island measuring 40km by 80km.