Fossil Fuel King of Saudi Arabia

Fossil Fuel
King of Saudi Arabia

Introduction.

Fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for the last several hundred years. However they will not last forever. They cause a lot of pollution and this in turn lends to diseases and to global warning. Therefore there are major projects being studied to try to allow for the development of alternatives to heavy traditional fuels such as oil, coal and gas (Industrial Revolution, 2013). What is more likely is that there will still be a heavy use of fossil fuels but a blended energy strategy will emerge. Currently the major producers of fossil fuels are in the Middle East as well as N. America. There are as are strategic targets for ever more economic development and so they hold a major influence in the world. The key resources required for industry and all manufacturing and so the price of oil and gas is passed on in other areas. Therefore countries in the Middle East are looking at other options to make their supplies last longer such as renewables like solar, water and nuclear options. This study well look at the possible solutions for each option discussed and focus in depth on KSA
 (Industrial Revolution, 2013).

Possible Energy Solutions.

There are a number of possible solutions for the fossil fuel issue. The first is a blended solution that allows the use of fossils together with nuclear and renewables. This is currently being considered in the UAE, for example. The renewable options include water, solar, wind and geo- thermals. The key idea is to make traditional fuel reserves last longer. This is part of national security and so it is very important. Manufacturing or transportation cannot take place without fuel.  Some renewable options include using oil from plants like rapeseed, but this means that big parts of land has to be used for fuel instead of food (Anonymous, 2006).Green diesels are made through this process, for example (Holmgren, et al, 2007)

However one advantage is reducing the amount of pollution caused by fossil fuels (Wang et al, 2008). This is known to be a factor behind global warming and flooding. Carbon-based fuels are heavy and produce too much carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere and this is linked to the green-house effect (Paula, 2010).

A major factor is cost. The fuel has to be extracted and processed cheaply and so this means exploration and research. The Gulf of Mexico British Petroleum disaster has shown the risks of this process. Other traditional options like natural gas are also running out and are expensive to freeze and transport. Much remains under the floor of the oceans (Paula, D., 2010).

However, if other options are not explored there will be an energy shortage and prices will continue to rise. Governments tax fuel and use it to fund their social programs. Therefore this is a very important topic and consumption is key (Lincoln, 2005).

Strategies in KSA

Saudi Arabia is the biggest oil exporter in the world. They hold the largest reserves and are concerned about Western strategies for alternative fuel options. They believe that this will stop them developing their reserves for the future, but are still spending record amounts to pump millions of barrels a day. Oil is not likely to stop bung the main source of oil, but they are receiving conflicting messages from the West. (Mouawad, 2009).This uncertainty has led to differences in prices in the market. The market fluctuation influences the law of supply and demand.

They understand that it will take a long time and major investment to diversity the fuel economy strategy globally and so they are still in first position for demand. In addition, the costs of bio-diesels are not as economic as many other options. Companies like Saudi Aramco are anxious to promote an environmentally friendly profile. This is in spite of the growth in transport and manufacturing. Therefore fuel efficiency is being targeted by governments and the Saudi’s are looking at a new generation of fuels with even more reduced sculpture content (Al Zahrani, 2010). Sulfur recovery has already helped reduce as pollution at key plants and this is set to continue. Since energy is key to economic development, the clean fuel production in KSA is set to continue in line with the expansion of global giants such as China.

Therefore, this issue is central to most government globally and both impacts economic development and climate change to a great extent.

References

Al-Zahrani, S. (2010, January 1). The road to Saudi Arabian Cleans Fuels . Hart Fuel . Retrieved May 22, 2013, from www.hartfuel.com/0908/f.saudicleanfuels.html

Anonymous, A. (2006, March 8). Heat-loving bacteria could churn out renewable fuels. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/218363575/13E3229D0005FEC868/1?accountid=1215

Holmgren, J., Gosling, C., Marinangeli, R., & Marker, T. (2007, September 1). New developments in renewable fuels offer more choices. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/225205634/13E3260DDEA7AFC9EDB/1?accountid=1215

Industrial Revolution . (2013, May 15). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution

Lincoln, S. F. (2005, December 1). Fossil Fuels in 21st Century. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/207671740/13E3248B04315E9DF90/1?accountid=1215

Litao, W., Jiming, H., Kebin, H., Shuxiao, W., & Junhua, L. (2013, August 1). A Modeling Study of Coarse Particulate Matter Pollution in Beijing. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/214375793/13E3240853A672883D8/1?accountid=1215

MOUAWAD, J. (2009, February 11). Saudi View of Alternative-Fuel 'Nightmare' .  Environment - The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/saudi-view-of-alternative-fuel-nightmare/

Paula, D. (2010, March 15). CERAWeek: Technology, gas key to fossil fuels future. Ezproxy Login. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/docview/274338725/13E3264C6C2460F205D/1?accountid=1215

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