Qatar - The Nuclear Option.

After six successive years of rapid economic and population growth in the GCC region, the frantic battle by state-run utilities to ensure demand does not outpace supply has proved to be a great challenge. In late 2006, the six GCC states announced they would conduct a study into nuclear energy. Hans-Holger Rogner, head of planning and economic studies at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in 2007 said much of the surge in GCC interest was attributed to regional positioning - with Iran openly discussing its nuclear ambitions.

The IAEA is drawing up a preliminary report, which will take into account GCC demand for electricity and fresh water up to 2025. It will consider how an oil and gas downturn could affect the region, and where a nuclear capability would help the GCC states.

As part of an initial study, the IAEA has looked at the manpower, infrastructure and facilities needed to develop a nuclear programme, while establishing a timeframe and legislative framework. The IAEA has said implementation of a country's first nuclear power plant takes about 15 years on average, possibly reduced to 10 years if the case is urgent. After an average lifetime of about 60 years, plans for decommissioning and waste management must also be implemented.

The IAEA emphasises there is a strong economic argument for GCC states to consider nuclear power. Saudi Arabia only receives $5 or $10/b for its crude oil when used domestically, compared with $70-plus on the export market.

Rogner in 2007 explained: "You could say why bother in the short term, but it is to the [GCC's] credit that it is looking to the long term in a passion-free manner. It has come to understand that nuclear power is cheap to operate but expensive to build". (Then there were about 45 feasibility studies considered worldwide, compared with just a handful five years earlier).

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