Page 13 - bne magazine November 2021_20211104 uzbekistan risding

bne November 2021 Companies & Markets I 13
think the high gas prices will go on for 15 or 20 years, then this project does not work because then it is cheaper to bring LNG [liquefied natural gas] to India or to Pakistan and the difficulties of building the pipeline and the expense of building the pipeline mean that this project cannot work.”
TAPI “was [the US’s] idea of nation building in Afghanistan in that it would not only help to create a non-Chinese export route for the gas in Turkmenistan, which is good from the United States’ strategic point of view, but also it would
help with this nation building which is also part of the
United States’ strategic view,” Pirani added. “This strategic prospective of the United States now no longer exists so I think that this reduces still further the likelihood that this TAPI pipeline will ever be built.”
An article published by the Atlantic Council in September suggested that the pipeline’s security is not the pivotal issue for
Uranium: what the explosion in prices means for the nuclear industry
Edward Thomas Jones & Danial Hemmings, & Simon Middleburgh
It is a year since Horizon Nuclear Power, a company owned by Hitachi, confirmed it was pulling out of building the £2bn Wylfa nuclear power plant on Anglesey in north Wales. The Japanese industrial conglomerate cited the failure to reach a funding deal with the UK government over escalating costs, and the government is still in negotiations with other players to try and take the project forward.
Hitachi’s share price went up 10% when it announced its withdrawal, reflecting investors’ negative sentiment towards building complex, highly regulated large nuclear power plants. With governments reluctant to subsidise nuclear power because of the high costs, particularly since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the market has undervalued the potential of this technology to tackle the climate emergency by providing abundant and reliable low-carbon electricity.
Uranium prices long reflected this reality. The primary fuel for nuclear plants was sliding for much of the 2010s, with no signs of a major turnaround. Yet since mid-August, prices have surged by around 60% as investors and speculators scramble to snap
TAPI’s success or otherwise. Rather, the article posited that the pipeline financing has always been the main obstacle. When the project’s price tag is combined with the various upstream costs of delivering 33bn cubic metres of gas per annum, TAPI’s costs would balloon to $40bn, the piece said.
Considering that Turkmenistan has pledged to fund most of the project on its own, the pipeline would only be viable with significant funds from international lenders – Turkmenistan, it seems, has not been able to secure any meaningful financing for the project from banks and private energy firms. Now, the necessity of dealing with the Taliban may further reduce any chances of Turkmenistan finding external funding.
Construction of the Afghan section officially began in February 2018, but more than three years later no significant progress has been reported. Further developments on the project are likely to remain on shaky ground for years to come.
Uranium price
Trading Economics
up the commodity. The price is around $48 per pound (453g), having been as cheap as $28.99 on August 16. So what lies behind this rally, and what does it mean for nuclear power?
The uranium market
The demand for uranium is limited to nuclear power production and medical equipment. Annual global demand is 150mn pounds, with nuclear power plants looking to secure contracts roughly two years ahead of use.
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