PRESIDENT George Bush yesterday told leaders of the oil- rich states of the Middle East that they must face up to a future without their precious hydrocarbons. In a stark warning, he said their supplies were running out and urged them to reform and diversify their economies. The outgoing United States president told the World Economic Forum, meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, that it was time to "prepare for the economic changes ahead".
In a stark warning, he said their supplies were running out and urged them to reform and diversify their economies. The outgoing United States president told the World Economic Forum, meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, that it was time to "prepare for the economic changes ahead".
Even better, he may be right.
I did a back of the envelope calculation a little while ago, based on the LANL Green Freedom proposal (urgh, what a bad name).
How much it would cost to generate FT diesel out of uranium and, literally, thin air with CO2 atmospheric capture in the cooling towers by dissolved potassium carbonate?
Assuming a much more conservative setup (FT with H2/CO2 reformer rather than direct methanol/MTG) and more conservative cost estimates than the LANL folks, I came at about $200/bbl, $95/bbl in OPEX and fuel cycle costs and $105/bbl to repay for the installation over 25 years at 5% interest rates.
As the final product is neat fuel - diesel, naphtha and LPG - ready to use without refining, that would make it competitive with crude at about $170/bbl or so.
