| While a growing number of countries have announced | | | | maintenance costs. |
| their civilian nuclear energy ambitions over the past | | | | There are numerous precedents in combining water |
| twelve months, no other country is likely to have | | | | desalination with nuclear energy for electrical |
| more of a psychological impact on the nuclear energy | | | | generation. The World Nuclear Association highlights |
| picture than Saudi Arabia. We believe the Kingdom's | | | | the BN-350 fast reactor in Kazakhstan, which has |
| natural gas and water problems will lead them to | | | | produced 135 MWe of electricity and 80,000 cubic |
| nuclear, sooner rather than later, probably as early as | | | | meters per day of potable water for nearly 30 years. |
| this year. | | | | In Japan, ten desalination facilities are linked to |
| After our interview with Kevin Bambrough, which | | | | pressurized water reactors producing electricity. The |
| resulted in the widely read article, 'Explosion in Nuclear | | | | International Atomic Energy Agency is working |
| Energy Demand Coming," we began more deeply | | | | closely with about 20 countries to implement dual-use |
| researching Bambrough's conclusion. He believes the | | | | nuclear reactors, which would also desalinate water. |
| overwhelming growth in nuclear energy will continue | | | | According to the World Nuclear Association's website, |
| to drive the uranium bull market much higher than is | | | | "Small and medium sized nuclear reactors are suitable |
| suspected. He believes the uranium renaissance has | | | | for desalination, often with cogeneration of electricity |
| gone beyond the envelope of just a mining inventory | | | | using low-pressure steam from the turbine and hot |
| shortage. We researched this further during the | | | | sea water feed from the final cooling system. The |
| course of our investigation into uranium and | | | | main opportunities for nuclear plants have been |
| geopolitics. We were surprised by what we | | | | identified as the 80-100,000 m3/day and 200-500,000 |
| discovered, and continue to be stunned by how | | | | m3/day ranges." |
| accurate Mr. Bambrough's forecast is likely to play | | | | There are numerous examples of nuclear desalination |
| out. We included the special sub-section, which | | | | being considered. In 1977, Iran's Bushehr nuclear |
| follows, in our soon-to-be-published, A Practical | | | | facility was to also have a 200,000 cubic meter/day |
| Investor's Guide to Uranium Stocks. Below is a sneak | | | | MSF desalination plant. Construction delays, and the |
| preview. | | | | subsequent Islamic revolution, prevented this from |
| An April 2006 UPI news item confirmed what many | | | | occurring. Perhaps when Iran commences its civilian |
| have long believed. It won't be long before Saudi | | | | nuclear program, the desalination plant will be revived. |
| Arabia launches a nuclear project. Kuwaiti researcher | | | | China is reviewing the feasibility of a nuclear |
| Abdullah al-Nufaisi told seminar attendees in Qatar | | | | seawater desalination plant in the Yantai area. Russia |
| that Saudi Arabia is preparing a nuclear program. He | | | | has advanced a nuclear desalination project with |
| said the government was being urged to launch a | | | | barge-mounted marine reactors using Canadian |
| nuclear project by Saudi scientists, but had not yet | | | | reverse-osmosis technology. India has begun |
| received the blessing by the royal family. Social, not | | | | operating a nuclear desalination demonstration plant at |
| energy, issues could help the Saudi royals embark on | | | | the Madras Atomic Power Station in southeast India. |
| a large-scale nuclear program. | | | | Another one may soon follow in the southern Indian |
| Of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's 24 million subjects, | | | | state of Tamil Nadu, which perpetually suffers from |
| more than 40 percent are under 18 years of age. | | | | water shortages. Pakistan continues its efforts to set |
| While still manageable, the country's infrastructure is | | | | up a demonstration desalination plant. South Korea |
| not prepared to deal with its explosive population | | | | has developed a small nuclear reactor design for |
| growth. The two biggest problems facing Saudi | | | | cogeneration of electricity and water. It may first be |
| Arabia are potential water and electricity shortages. | | | | tested on Madura Island in Indonesia. Argentina has |
| True, its super oilfields may also have peaked in | | | | also developed a small nuclear reactor design for |
| production and might move into tertiary recovery, | | | | electricity cogeneration or solely for desalination. |
| but that is unknown. An Islamic revolution, similar to | | | | The Saudis have investigated dual use for nearly |
| what Iran suffered in the 1970s is probably foremost | | | | thirty years. Since 1978, Saudi scientists have studied |
| in the King's mind. Civil unrest might come about | | | | nuclear desalination plants in Kazakhstan and Japan. |
| should his subjects suffer from insufficient electricity | | | | Both studies positively assessed the feasibility of |
| and inadequate water supplies. One need only look at | | | | bringing the first dual-use nuclear reactor in Saudi |
| the widespread electricity shortages Syria | | | | Arabia. Since the mid 1980s, scientists and |
| experienced in the 1980s and early 1990s. | | | | researchers at the Saudi's Nuclear Engineering |
| As reported in the October 14, 2004 issue of Arab | | | | Department at King Abdulaziz University, the College |
| Oil and Gas, the Saudis lag well behind Bahrain, | | | | of Engineering at the University of Riyadh, the |
| Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates in per | | | | Chemical Engineering Department of King Saud |
| capita energy consumption. The rate of natural gas | | | | University, and the Atomic Energy Research Institute |
| consumption, which produces Saudi's electricity, | | | | have researched and evaluated nuclear desalination. |
| increased less than Egypt and Syria. Total energy | | | | Saudi scientists presented their paper, entitled, 'Role |
| consumption dropped by 3.5 percent in 1999 and | | | | of Nuclear Desalination in the Kingdom of Saudi |
| 2000. | | | | Arabia,' at the First International Conference on |
| The internationally heralded "Gas Initiative" of 1998 | | | | Nuclear Desalination in Morocco in October 2002. |
| was the Kingdom's attempt to lure major western oil | | | | The country possesses a tandetron accelerator and |
| companies back into the country to help develop its | | | | a cyclotron capable of isotope production for medical |
| natural gas reserves. After major oil companies spent | | | | purposes. Saudi's nuclear scientists have been |
| $100 million in due diligence to evaluate the Saudi | | | | involved with many countries to help their country |
| natural gas reserves, the initiative quietly dropped off | | | | develop a bonafide nuclear energy program. In late |
| the world's radar screen. A Shell Oil executive, whose | | | | March 2006, a German magazine reported Saudi |
| company is exploring for gas in the country's Empty | | | | Arabia has been secretly working on a nuclear |
| Quarter, told Bloomberg Daily Energy News that this | | | | program with help from Pakistani scientists. Ironically, |
| was a high-risk venture with a low probability of | | | | many believe Saudi Arabia helped finance Pakistan's |
| finding sizeable reserves. In Matthew Simmons' | | | | nuclear program. Because Saudi scientists lack the |
| Twilight of the Desert, he repeated what he was | | | | proven experience of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, |
| told by an anonymous senior oil executive, "The | | | | Pakistan's expertise, over the past decade, could help |
| reservoirs are crummy." | | | | accelerate the Kingdom's pursuit of a civilian nuclear |
| The Saudis need water and electricity to match their | | | | program. |
| population growth. Nuclear energy is likely to be the | | | | While lacking proven uranium deposits, the country's |
| solution to both those problems. Continued | | | | Tabuk region has low-grade amounts of uranium and |
| dependence upon natural gas may prove a fatal | | | | thorium. However, Saudi Arabia has significant |
| economic and social error for the royal family. Our | | | | phosphate deposits, which some believe could be |
| research forecasts the Saudis should announce a | | | | exploited. The country's two largest deposits |
| large-scale civilian nuclear energy program in the near | | | | reportedly measure about 750 million metric tons, |
| future. | | | | averaging between 19 and 21 percent P2O5. Mined |
| Let's discuss the water problem first. In a 2002 story | | | | by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company and the Saudi |
| reported in the Oil & Gas Journal, Saudi Arabia's 30 | | | | Basic Industrial Corporation, fertilizer plants at the Al |
| desalination plants produce about 21 percent of the | | | | Jubail Industrial City produce about 4.5 metric tons of |
| world's total desalinated water production. Nearly 70 | | | | P2O5 annually. While extraction of uranium from |
| percent of the local water drunk in cities comes from | | | | phosphates can be an expensive proposition, the |
| desalinated sea water. As the population grows, Saudi | | | | phosphates could provide a ready supply of uranium |
| Arabia may spend another $40 billion to build more | | | | for the country's nuclear desalination plants. Then, it |
| desalination plants. | | | | would be a matter of uranium enrichment, of which |
| Half of the world's desalination plants are in the Middle | | | | both the Russians and the French would be |
| East. Most are powered by fossil fuels, especially | | | | scrambling to provide the Kingdom. |
| natural gas. Converting sea water to potable water is | | | | While the Saudi program many not directly impact |
| energy intensive. The commonly used desalination | | | | world uranium prices, the Kingdom's decision to |
| method of multi-stage flash (MSF) distillation with | | | | advance its nuclear program, beyond the research |
| steam requires heat at 70 to 130 degrees centigrade | | | | and medical stage, would signal the entire world that |
| and consumes up to 200 kilowatt hours of electricity | | | | nuclear energy programs will be a primary growth |
| for every cubic meter of water (about 264 gallons). | | | | sector for the next fifty to one hundred years. |
| MSF is the most popular technology, but some are | | | | Should the Saudis also commence desalination |
| turning to reverse osmosis (RO). RO consumes about | | | | projects using dual-use nuclear reactors, this could |
| 6 kilowatt hours of electricity for every cubic meter | | | | change the entire landscape of the water situation |
| of water. | | | | for the Middle East as well as Africa. And it would |
| Desalination is very expensive. The cost to generate | | | | most likely spark a significant stampede of the |
| this electricity through natural gas explains why Saudi | | | | Kingdom's neighbors into the global nuclear |
| Arabia spends about $4 billion in operating and annual | | | | renaissance. |