Although a growing number of countries have announced their nuclear ambitions over the past twelve months, no other country is more likely to have a greater psychological impact on nuclear energy than Saudi Arabia. We believe the State's natural gas and water problems will lead them to nuclear, sooner rather than later, probably earlier this year.
After our interview with Kevin Bambrough, which led to a widely read article, ‘The Explosion of Nuclear Energy Demand Coming,’ we began a deeper study of Bambrough’s fate. He believes strong nuclear growth will continue to push the uranium bull market higher than suspected. He believes uranium enrichment has gone beyond the envelope shortage of mining assets. We have explored this further during our research on uranium and geopolitics. We were amazed at what we found, and we continue to be amazed at how accurate Mr. Bambrough's prediction could be. We have included a special, next article, to be published soon, the Active Investment Guide for Uranium Stocks. Below preview stealthily.
The April 2006 UPI news story confirmed what many have long believed. It will not be long before Saudi Arabia launches a nuclear project. Kuwaiti researcher Abdullah al-Nufaisi told delegates in Qatar that Saudi Arabia was preparing for the nuclear program. He said the government was being urged to launch a nuclear program by Saudi scientists, but had not yet received a blessing from the royal family. Social problems, not power issues, could help members of the Saudi royal family to launch a major nuclear program.
Of Saudi Arabia's 24 million ministers, more than 40 percent are under the age of 18. While still under control, the country's infrastructure is unprepared to cope with the explosive population growth. Two of the biggest problems facing Saudi Arabia are possible water and electricity shortages. Granted, its major oil fields may have increased in production and may have advanced to normal conditions, but that is not known. The Islamic revolution, similar to the one in which Iran suffered in the 1970's, is probably at the forefront of the King's mind. Civil unrest may occur if his people suffer from poor electricity supply and inadequate water. We need to look only at the widespread power shortages that Syria faced in the 1980's and early 1990's.
As reported in the October 14, 2004 issue of Arab Oil and Gas, the Saudis lagged behind Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates in the use of force per capita. The level of natural gas consumption, which produces Saudi energy, has risen below Egypt and Syria. Total energy consumption decreased by 3.5 percent in 1999 and 2000.
The "Gas Initiative" announced internationally in 1998 was the Government's attempt to attract major western oil companies back to the country to help develop their natural gas resources. After major oil companies spent $ 100 million diligently exploring Saudi natural gas reserves, the move came off the world radar screen. The CEO of Shell Oil, whose gas company operates at the country's Empty Quarter, told Bloomberg Daily Energy News that this was a very risky business with little chance of making big money. In Matthew Simmons' book Twilight of the Desert, reiterating what he was told by an anonymous oil chief, "Old Pools."
The Saudis need water and electricity to keep pace with the growing population. Nuclear power is likely to be the solution to both problems. Continuing to rely on natural gas could be a deadly economic and social mistake for the royal family. Our study predicts that the Saudis should announce a major nuclear power program for civilians soon.
Let's talk about water problems first. In a 2002 report reported in the Oil & Gas Journal, 30 Saudi Arabian desalination plants account for about 21 percent of the total salt production in the world. About 70 percent of the local water is consumed in cities from freshwater seawater. As the population grows, Saudi Arabia could spend another $ 40 billion to build more saltwater plants.
Part of the world's salt water plants are in the Middle East. Most are powered by electricity, especially natural gas. Turning seawater into potable water consumes energy. The most common method of multi-stage flash (MSF) steam distillation by steam requires a temperature of 70 to 130 degrees centigrade and consumes 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per cubic meter of water (approximately 264 liters). MSF is a popular technology, but some are turning to a reversible osmosis (RO). RO consumes about 6 kilowatt hours of electricity per cubic meter of water.
Removing salt from water is very expensive. The cost of producing this gas from natural gas explains why Saudi Arabia spends about $ 4 billion on operating and annual maintenance costs.
There are many examples of combining hydropower and nuclear power generation. The World Nuclear Association highlights the rapid BN-350 in Kazakhstan, which generates 135 MWe of electricity and 80,000 cubic meters per day of drinking water for nearly 30 years. In Japan, ten desalination plants are connected to pressurized hydroelectric water reactors. The International Atomic Energy Agency is working closely with some 20 countries to develop dual-nuclear reactors, which will extract salt from the water.
According to the World Nuclear Association website, “Small and medium-sized nuclear power plants are suitable for desalination, usually by combining electricity using a low-pressure steam from a turbine and hot sewage from the final cooling system. The greatest potential for the nuclear industry has been identified as 80-100,000 m3 / day and 200-500,000 m3 / day. ”
There are many examples of nuclei
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