• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Archives
  • Links

Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Bloomberg article about Gulf states interest in nuclear power

December 11, 2006 By Rod Adams

Bloomberg.com published an interesting article by Andy Critchlow on December 10, 2006 titled Saudi, Gulf States to Study Using Nuclear Technology (Update4). The article inspired me to write to the author. Here is what I told him:

Dear Mr. Critchlow:

I read with interest your article about the interest in nuclear power in Saudi Arabia and five other gulf states. You did a good job in outlining the issues and providing balance between a couple of points of view.

As the editor and primary author of Atomic Insights, I have tried to make the case that interest in nuclear power by major oil producers – at this time in their development – is a perfectly logical response. No one knows better than someone that is actually pumping oil out of the ground that the wealth from that activity is a fragile one that depends on many different influences.

Not only are there market concerns with widely varying prices, but there are also geological challenges that cause the wells to stop producing at some point in time.

Smart leaders of growing economies will take every opportunity to invest their temporary boon into enterprises with more long lasting potential. Since temporarily oil-rich countries know how important the energy industry is, nuclear power is a logical focus point. A side benefit is that nuclear electrical power will help free up additional oil and gas to sell into the international market; that activity is far more lucrative than burning the oil and gas at home to produce electricity.

The paternalistic attitude expressed by Mr. Harris that the “oil-rich Gulf states don’t need nuclear power” at a time when Russia, China, India, the UK, the US (especially in Texas), Finland, Norway, and South Africa all have expressed strong interest in developing new nuclear power plants is quite annoying. Each of those countries has a period in its history when it was viewed as oil or natural resources rich, but their prosperity continued by investing that wealth wisely.

Nuclear power makes sense – it reduces pollution, it stretches fossil reserves, and it provides real growth opportunities for developing nations.

Best regards,

Rod Adams
Editor, Atomic Insights
Co-Host, The Atomic Show

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Avatar

About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience, now serving as a Managing Partner at Nucleation Capital, an emerging climate-focused fund. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial discussion and analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology and policies for several decades. He is the founder of Atomic Insights and host and producer of The Atomic Show Podcast.

Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed.

Primary Sidebar

Search Atomic Insights

Follow Atomic Insights

The Atomic Show

Atomic Insights

Recent Posts

Five Myths about the Lone Star Blackout

Atomic Show #291 – Kalev Kallemets, Fermi Energia

Preliminary lessons available to be learned from Feb 2021 extended cold spell

South Texas Project Unit 1 tripped at 0537 on Feb 15, 2021

Atomic Show #290 – Myrto Tripathi, Voices of Nuclear

  • Home
  • About Atomic Insights
  • Atomic Show
  • Contact
  • Links

Search Atomic Insights

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Atomic Insights

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy