Iran Needs Nuclear because it’s Running Out of Oil

US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman sees a problem. He thinks that long-term financing for building nuclear power stations is at risk.

This may be true in the US, but he really needs to look at emerging economies to see that the nuclear renaissance is well underway.

Bodman was really only thinking about America. But the world is much bigger than just one country.

He made the comments on the same day as the US senate signed off the nuclear co-operation deal with India. It was also a few days after Russia agreed to help Hugo Chavez with a nuclear programme.

But if you want to feel assured about the prospect for nuclear power, just have a look at what is going on in the Middle East. A place awash with petrodollars.

There are two main reasons for the rush to nuclear power in Iran and Saudi Arabia. And neither of them is the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The first of these is the fact that they don’t have as much oil as everybody thinks. The second is water.

Let’s take a look at Iran’s reserve situation.

The simple fact is that Iran HAS to develop nuclear power because the country is running out of oil. Iran’s “massive” oil reserves are a big, fat lie.

One of the people who made that reality crystal clear to Iran's leaders a few years ago was Dr Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari.

Dr Bakhtiari started working for the National Iranian Oil Company back when the Shah was in power. For 36 years he worked for the company in a variety of senior positions until he retired.

This is what he told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

"As for Iran, the usually accepted official 132 billion barrels is almost 100 billion barrels over any realistic assay."

The current estimate of Iran's reserves is 136 billion barrels. That's the second highest oil reserves in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia.

Dr Bakhtiari thinks this should be closer to 36 billion barrels.

I believe that Ahmadinejad needs to go nuclear because his country's oil industry is struggling to keep its oil production at close to 4 million barrels per day. And it’s only going to get worse.

That’s why Iran needs nuclear – and that’s why Ahmadinejad will never give up his nuclear programme.

The second reason is water.

The population in the Middle East is set to soar in the next 15 years. In Saudi Arabia, almost 40% of the population is under the age of 14. It has a fertility rate of 5 children per woman. The country is set for a massive population explosion at a time when its infrastructure is creaking.

The Kingdom is already the world's largest producer of desalinated water. It currently has 27 desalination plants which provide 70% of its drinking water requirement. But it will need more. Much more.

That’s where nuclear power comes in.

Desalination is an extremely energy-intensive process, but nuclear plants can be used for the duel purpose of producing electricity and desalinating water.

Nuclear desalination is a proven technology. Kazakhstan produced water by nuclear desalination for almost 30 years until its reactor was decommissioned in 1999.

The country’s BN-350 fast reactor at Aktau successfully produced up to 135 MW of electricity and 80,000 m3/day of potable water over 27 years. Around 60% of its power was used for desalination.

Then there’s Japan...

It has ten desalination facilities linked to pressurised water reactors operating for electricity production. They have yielded 1000-3000 m3/day each of potable water.

India has also got in on the act. In 2002 it set up a demonstration plant coupled to twin 170 MWe nuclear power reactors at its Madras Atomic Power Station.

So, Mr Bodman needs to be a little less US-centric when talking about the future of nuclear power. The world’s going nuclear whether the US does or not. There’s plenty of money in the Middle East, in Venezuela, in India and in China.

The nuclear revolution is here to stay. To discover the best ways to play the new energy boom click here.

Regards,

Garry White
Editor
Smart Commodities UK

P.S. If you enjoyed this article then sign up for Smart Commodities UK. It’s dedicated to searching out the investment trends that could provide our biggest profit opportunities for the next decade…

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Iran Needs Nuclear because it’s Running Out of Oil

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Iran Needs Nuclear because it’s Running Out of Oil