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Saudi Arabia has signed nuclear technology agreements with several states: China, France, Argentina and South Korea, in order to address its need for research reactors, nuclear power plants and so forth. The latter will help slow domestic oil consumption, while boosting the amount of oil available for export. China alone is going to help build sixteen nuclear reactors.
Never mind Iran, are Saudi Arabia about to acquire a nuclear bomb? | Mail Online
----------------------------------------------------
Trio team up for Saudi nuclear projects
12 July 2010
The Shaw Group, Exelon and Toshiba plan to team up to pursue contracts for "a full complement of services to design, engineer, construct and operate" nuclear power projects in Saudi Arabia.
Under the terms of a teaming agreement, Shaw, Toshiba and Exelon Nuclear Partners - a division of US utility Exelon - will jointly pursue engineering, procurement, construction and operations of nuclear power plants using Toshiba's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). The group would also be capable of utilizing Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor technology.
Toshiba and Shaw would provide design, engineering, procurement and construction services, while Exelon would provide operations and related services for the projects.
J.M. Bernhard, Shaw's chairman, president and CEO, said: "Shaw, Toshiba and Westinghouse are working collaboratively with customers to build four nuclear units in China and six new nuclear units in the US, the first contracts awarded in the US in nearly 30 years for new nuclear power plants."
He added, "The addition of Exelon, which operates the largest nuclear power fleet in the United States, creates a team that is unmatched in its ability to offer a portfolio of technology, construction and operations in Saudi Arabia."
In April 2010, Saudi Arabia announced plans to establish a centre that will take a major role in its moves to set up a nuclear power program. The centre, called the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE), was established by a royal order issued by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
The Riyadh-based 'city' will be tasked with promoting research, making future deals, and overseeing activities related to the use of atomic energy, according to an announcement by the Saudi Arabian government. It will also be the competent agency in charge of fulfilling national requirements in reference to existing and future treaties on nuclear and renewable energy signed by the kingdom, as well as being responsible for supervising works related to nuclear energy and radioactive waste projects. The initiative will be primarily funded through allocations from the state budget.
The KA-CARE organisation recently appointed the Finland- and Switzerland-based Pöyry consultancy firm to "help prepare a draft of the national vision and high-level strategy in the area of nuclear and renewable energy applications."
Before US companies can start nuclear cooperation projects with Saudi Arabia, the US and Saudi governments must negotiate a so-called 123 Agreement. Such agreements are a prerequisite for the transfer of nuclear energy-related materials and components between the USA and another country under Section 123 of the 1954 US Atomic Energy Act, establishing the legal framework for civil nuclear cooperation under non-proliferation conditions and controls.
Likewise, an intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Japan and Saudi Arabia is required before Japanese companies can get involved in Saudi nuclear power projects.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Trio team up for Saudi nuclear projects
-----------------------------------------------------------
Saudi Arabia's Nuclear Ambitions
There is a growing number of countries across the Middle East seeking to establish civilian nuclear energy programs. Last week, three leading nuclear industry-related firmstwo from the United States and one from Japanannounced a joint initiative to build and operate nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia.
In a Q&A, Mark Hibbs explains that Saudi Arabia believes its future economic security depends on diversifying its domestic energy system away from fossil fuels. Currently, the country consumes a quarter of the crude oil it produces. Riyadhs commitment to nuclear energy could also affect regional dynamics. Setting up a Saudi Arabian nuclear energy program with the cooperation of the United States and other advanced nuclear countries would directly challenge Irans aspirations for regional leadership in nuclear power, Hibbs says.
Why does Saudi Arabia want nuclear energy? Are the countrys petroleum reserves enough to provide the Kingdom with long-term energy security?
Do other countries in the region use nuclear energy and will Saudi Arabias efforts encourage its neighbors to start their own programs?
Is there a political explanation for Saudi Arabias interest in nuclear power? How does this relate to Saudi Arabias rivalry with its neighbor Iran?
Is Saudi Arabia a nuclear proliferation risk?
How should the U.S. government respond? Does this mean American firms will soon be able to set up nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia?
Will other foreign vendors fill the void if Saudi Arabia wont agree to U.S. terms for a nuclear cooperation agreement?
Does Saudi Arabia have the necessary means and infrastructure to deploy power reactors?
Why does Saudi Arabia want nuclear energy? Are the countrys petroleum reserves enough to provide the Kingdom with long-term energy security?
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has experienced an increase in electricity demandbetween 8 and 10 percent per yearand this is expected to continue. Working hand-in-hand with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional trade bloc, Saudi Arabia is expanding its power grid across the country and is adding a new power plant to the grid every 20 months on average.
While Saudi officials and experts have been interested in nuclear energy for three decades, it is only recently that the interest has gained political traction. Top leaders are now convinced that the Kingdom faces serious future political and economic liabilities if it does not diversify its economy away from petroleum and natural gas. Burning oil for electricity production currently consumes about a quarter of the crude oil Saudi Arabia produces. In the past several years the price of oil has been rising and in parallel the opportunity cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels for domestic power production is going up.
In April, King Abdullah announced that he would establish the King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy in Riyadh. A handful of top-level officials have been appointed to head the organization, but the government has disclosed few details about how it will proceed. The Saudi government has reiterated to foreign counterparts that, so far, Saudi Arabia has not taken a formal decision to build and operate power reactors in the country. But it is likely that its only a matter of time.
Do other countries in the region use nuclear energy and will Saudi Arabias efforts encourage its neighbors to start their own programs?
No country in the Middle East generates nuclear power at this time. After three decades of construction, Iran is the only country in the Middle East that has built a power reactor and it may begin generating electricity soon. Saudi Arabia is one of several countries in the region that has announced plans to intensify their efforts to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and may build and operate power reactors.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed contracts with Korean firms worth about $20 billion to build four reactors last year and the drive for growth and need to diversify the economy in the UAE are the same as in Saudi Arabia. Other Persian Gulf statesOman, Kuwait, and Qatarhave also expressed interest in nuclear energy, but if Saudi Arabia succeeds in setting up reactors on its territory, these countries may instead choose to establish grid connections to Saudi Arabia with GCC assistance and buy power from those reactors.
Is there a political explanation for Saudi Arabias interest in nuclear power? How does this relate to Saudi Arabias rivalry with its neighbor Iran?
Saudi Arabia sees a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat. Some Saudi officials believe that if the country establishes its own nuclear power program, the Kingdom will enjoy greater influence over the regions nuclear development, including vis-à-vis Iran.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have made proposals and counterproposals to pool future nuclear resourcesbut both sides have rejected them at some stage. Some of the Iranian proposals attached the condition that U.S. armed forcesupon which Saudi Arabia depends for its securitymust leave the region.
In step with the UAE, setting up a Saudi Arabian nuclear energy program with the cooperation of the United States and other advanced nuclear countries would directly challenge Irans aspirations for regional leadership in nuclear power. It would also demonstrate to Iran that if Tehran continues on its course of developing weapons-related nuclear capabilities in defiance of international sanctions, it will become further isolated, including in the Middle East.
Is Saudi Arabia a nuclear proliferation risk?
Indirectly yes. Irans ambitious and ambiguous nuclear drive has shown states in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, that having nuclear energy facilitiesparticularly fuel cycle facilitiesgives a country a sense of prowess and strength. Setting up their own nuclear programs give states long-term hedging options, particularly in light of concerns that U.S. security guarantees to its allies will become weaker. Some Saudi diplomats complain that, since 2003, the United States has permitted Iran to gain in influence in the region at the expense of Saudi Arabia and other states with Sunni majorities.
If Iran obtains nuclear weapons, some regional analysts and Western government officials assert that Saudi Arabia will react by entering into a nuclear defense pact with Pakistan, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and is now expanding its atomic arsenal. U.S. and European officials say privately that they are concerned about how Saudi Arabia would respond to a nuclear-armed Iran, given a lack of transparency in Saudi government decision making and the countrys precarious security situation.
The Saudi government has denied recurring rumors of murky nuclear relations with Pakistan and allegations of non-peaceful intentions. But as recently as this month, officials from the United States and Europe raised concerns that Pakistans nuclear weapons program may have received financing from Saudi Arabian sources. Making a closer relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia more troubling are fears that China would take the opportunity to project its strategic interest in the Middle East through its close relationship with Pakistan.
Given Saudi Arabias limited human resources and science and technology infrastructure, however, Western governments do not appear worried that the country will any time soon be able to itself develop a nuclear weapons capability.
And after many years of delays at the top of the government, Saudi Arabia allowed a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter into force in 2009. The IAEA, however, is currently prevented from inspecting any nuclear activities in the country because Saudi Arabia has not modifiedas it was requested by the IAEA beginning in 2005its so-called Small Quantities Protocol (SQP). The SQP was established by the IAEA in 1974 to exempt states with little or no nuclear activities from inspections, but in 2005 the IAEAs governing board mandated that it be modified to deter states with SQPs from secretly processing nuclear materials exempt from routine safeguards.
How should the U.S. government respond? Does this mean American firms will soon be able to set up nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia?
No. U.S. firms cannot supply nuclear technology, material, or equipment to Saudi Arabia unless the United States and Saudi Arabia conclude a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Acta so-called 123 agreement. So far, the State Department has not been asked by President Obama to negotiate an agreement with Saudi Arabia and its unlikely that Washington will take that step anytime soon.
Concerns about proliferation in the Middle East led the United States to conclude a restrictive 123 agreement with the UAE in 2009. The UAE agreed not to pursue sensitive fuel cycle activitiesuranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessingwhich would produce fissile material useable in nuclear weapons. The United States wants to establish the UAE agreement as the model for all future 123 agreements.
The United States has been negotiating a 123 agreement with Jordan since 2008, but Amman now refuses to forego enrichment and reprocessing. Western diplomats say that Saudi Arabia is also not prepared to conclude an agreement on the same terms as the UAE. The matter is sensitive because a so-called agreed minute in the U.S.UAE agreement implies that the UAE will try to renegotiate if the United States concludes a less-restrictive agreement with another state.
Negotiation of a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia might not happen for a few years during which Washington would evaluate how the U.S.UAE agreement is being implemented.
Any move by the Obama administration to launch a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia would likely provoke questions or resistance in Congress. There are concerns that U.S. participation in Saudi Arabias nuclear program would be counter to the security interests of Israel. Also for this reason, the United States is reluctant to negotiate an agreement with Riyadh unless it agreed to forego sensitive fuel cycle activities.
Will other foreign vendors fill the void if Saudi Arabia wont agree to U.S. terms for a nuclear cooperation agreement?
The announcement by the United States and Japanese firms last week is an early attempt to participate in Saudi Arabias nuclear development as the country decides whether to move forward with the construction of nuclear reactors. While U.S. firms cant participate until a bilateral agreement is reached, companies from other countries are potential suppliers.
Without a bilateral cooperation deal with the United States and anticipating the restrictions Washington would try to impose on Saudi Arabia through an agreement, Saudi Arabia may elect to contract with French or Japanese firms to set up reactors, following the negotiation of bilateral cooperation agreements with Japan and France. If there is a restrictive bilateral agreement with the United States, however, Saudi Arabia would not be able to import reprocessing and enrichment items from France and Japan.
Still, if there isnt a U.S.Saudi Arabia 123 agreement in place, France and Japan would not transfer enrichment and reprocessing items to Saudi Arabia. Both countries joined other nuclear exporters in the G8 last December in pledging indefinitely not to export items for enrichment or reprocessing to newcomer countries.
Does Saudi Arabia have the necessary means and infrastructure to deploy power reactors?
There is no question that Saudi Arabia has the financial resources. Its industry has experience in setting up conventional power plants as large as 2,500 megawatts, similar to the capacity of a modern nuclear power plant. And the Saudi grid is stable and growing.
As in the case for the UAE, the announcement last week by the three firms suggests that Saudi Arabia may choose to have foreigners take initial control of construction, project management, regulation, and operation of its nuclear power program. Saudi Arabia lacks sufficient skilled human resources and a unified legal framework for implementing nuclear power development on its own. The UAE model may provide Saudi Arabia its blueprint for moving forward.
Questions remain about what lies ahead for Saudi Arabias nuclear energy ambitions, and Saudi Arabian science and technology officials have indicated that the country will likely proceed with caution.
Never mind Iran, are Saudi Arabia about to acquire a nuclear bomb? | Mail Online
----------------------------------------------------
Trio team up for Saudi nuclear projects
12 July 2010
The Shaw Group, Exelon and Toshiba plan to team up to pursue contracts for "a full complement of services to design, engineer, construct and operate" nuclear power projects in Saudi Arabia.
Under the terms of a teaming agreement, Shaw, Toshiba and Exelon Nuclear Partners - a division of US utility Exelon - will jointly pursue engineering, procurement, construction and operations of nuclear power plants using Toshiba's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). The group would also be capable of utilizing Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor technology.
Toshiba and Shaw would provide design, engineering, procurement and construction services, while Exelon would provide operations and related services for the projects.
J.M. Bernhard, Shaw's chairman, president and CEO, said: "Shaw, Toshiba and Westinghouse are working collaboratively with customers to build four nuclear units in China and six new nuclear units in the US, the first contracts awarded in the US in nearly 30 years for new nuclear power plants."
He added, "The addition of Exelon, which operates the largest nuclear power fleet in the United States, creates a team that is unmatched in its ability to offer a portfolio of technology, construction and operations in Saudi Arabia."
In April 2010, Saudi Arabia announced plans to establish a centre that will take a major role in its moves to set up a nuclear power program. The centre, called the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE), was established by a royal order issued by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
The Riyadh-based 'city' will be tasked with promoting research, making future deals, and overseeing activities related to the use of atomic energy, according to an announcement by the Saudi Arabian government. It will also be the competent agency in charge of fulfilling national requirements in reference to existing and future treaties on nuclear and renewable energy signed by the kingdom, as well as being responsible for supervising works related to nuclear energy and radioactive waste projects. The initiative will be primarily funded through allocations from the state budget.
The KA-CARE organisation recently appointed the Finland- and Switzerland-based Pöyry consultancy firm to "help prepare a draft of the national vision and high-level strategy in the area of nuclear and renewable energy applications."
Before US companies can start nuclear cooperation projects with Saudi Arabia, the US and Saudi governments must negotiate a so-called 123 Agreement. Such agreements are a prerequisite for the transfer of nuclear energy-related materials and components between the USA and another country under Section 123 of the 1954 US Atomic Energy Act, establishing the legal framework for civil nuclear cooperation under non-proliferation conditions and controls.
Likewise, an intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Japan and Saudi Arabia is required before Japanese companies can get involved in Saudi nuclear power projects.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Trio team up for Saudi nuclear projects
-----------------------------------------------------------
Saudi Arabia's Nuclear Ambitions
There is a growing number of countries across the Middle East seeking to establish civilian nuclear energy programs. Last week, three leading nuclear industry-related firmstwo from the United States and one from Japanannounced a joint initiative to build and operate nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia.
In a Q&A, Mark Hibbs explains that Saudi Arabia believes its future economic security depends on diversifying its domestic energy system away from fossil fuels. Currently, the country consumes a quarter of the crude oil it produces. Riyadhs commitment to nuclear energy could also affect regional dynamics. Setting up a Saudi Arabian nuclear energy program with the cooperation of the United States and other advanced nuclear countries would directly challenge Irans aspirations for regional leadership in nuclear power, Hibbs says.
Why does Saudi Arabia want nuclear energy? Are the countrys petroleum reserves enough to provide the Kingdom with long-term energy security?
Do other countries in the region use nuclear energy and will Saudi Arabias efforts encourage its neighbors to start their own programs?
Is there a political explanation for Saudi Arabias interest in nuclear power? How does this relate to Saudi Arabias rivalry with its neighbor Iran?
Is Saudi Arabia a nuclear proliferation risk?
How should the U.S. government respond? Does this mean American firms will soon be able to set up nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia?
Will other foreign vendors fill the void if Saudi Arabia wont agree to U.S. terms for a nuclear cooperation agreement?
Does Saudi Arabia have the necessary means and infrastructure to deploy power reactors?
Why does Saudi Arabia want nuclear energy? Are the countrys petroleum reserves enough to provide the Kingdom with long-term energy security?
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has experienced an increase in electricity demandbetween 8 and 10 percent per yearand this is expected to continue. Working hand-in-hand with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional trade bloc, Saudi Arabia is expanding its power grid across the country and is adding a new power plant to the grid every 20 months on average.
While Saudi officials and experts have been interested in nuclear energy for three decades, it is only recently that the interest has gained political traction. Top leaders are now convinced that the Kingdom faces serious future political and economic liabilities if it does not diversify its economy away from petroleum and natural gas. Burning oil for electricity production currently consumes about a quarter of the crude oil Saudi Arabia produces. In the past several years the price of oil has been rising and in parallel the opportunity cost of continuing to burn fossil fuels for domestic power production is going up.
In April, King Abdullah announced that he would establish the King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy in Riyadh. A handful of top-level officials have been appointed to head the organization, but the government has disclosed few details about how it will proceed. The Saudi government has reiterated to foreign counterparts that, so far, Saudi Arabia has not taken a formal decision to build and operate power reactors in the country. But it is likely that its only a matter of time.
Do other countries in the region use nuclear energy and will Saudi Arabias efforts encourage its neighbors to start their own programs?
No country in the Middle East generates nuclear power at this time. After three decades of construction, Iran is the only country in the Middle East that has built a power reactor and it may begin generating electricity soon. Saudi Arabia is one of several countries in the region that has announced plans to intensify their efforts to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and may build and operate power reactors.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed contracts with Korean firms worth about $20 billion to build four reactors last year and the drive for growth and need to diversify the economy in the UAE are the same as in Saudi Arabia. Other Persian Gulf statesOman, Kuwait, and Qatarhave also expressed interest in nuclear energy, but if Saudi Arabia succeeds in setting up reactors on its territory, these countries may instead choose to establish grid connections to Saudi Arabia with GCC assistance and buy power from those reactors.
Is there a political explanation for Saudi Arabias interest in nuclear power? How does this relate to Saudi Arabias rivalry with its neighbor Iran?
Saudi Arabia sees a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat. Some Saudi officials believe that if the country establishes its own nuclear power program, the Kingdom will enjoy greater influence over the regions nuclear development, including vis-à-vis Iran.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia and Iran have made proposals and counterproposals to pool future nuclear resourcesbut both sides have rejected them at some stage. Some of the Iranian proposals attached the condition that U.S. armed forcesupon which Saudi Arabia depends for its securitymust leave the region.
In step with the UAE, setting up a Saudi Arabian nuclear energy program with the cooperation of the United States and other advanced nuclear countries would directly challenge Irans aspirations for regional leadership in nuclear power. It would also demonstrate to Iran that if Tehran continues on its course of developing weapons-related nuclear capabilities in defiance of international sanctions, it will become further isolated, including in the Middle East.
Is Saudi Arabia a nuclear proliferation risk?
Indirectly yes. Irans ambitious and ambiguous nuclear drive has shown states in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, that having nuclear energy facilitiesparticularly fuel cycle facilitiesgives a country a sense of prowess and strength. Setting up their own nuclear programs give states long-term hedging options, particularly in light of concerns that U.S. security guarantees to its allies will become weaker. Some Saudi diplomats complain that, since 2003, the United States has permitted Iran to gain in influence in the region at the expense of Saudi Arabia and other states with Sunni majorities.
If Iran obtains nuclear weapons, some regional analysts and Western government officials assert that Saudi Arabia will react by entering into a nuclear defense pact with Pakistan, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and is now expanding its atomic arsenal. U.S. and European officials say privately that they are concerned about how Saudi Arabia would respond to a nuclear-armed Iran, given a lack of transparency in Saudi government decision making and the countrys precarious security situation.
The Saudi government has denied recurring rumors of murky nuclear relations with Pakistan and allegations of non-peaceful intentions. But as recently as this month, officials from the United States and Europe raised concerns that Pakistans nuclear weapons program may have received financing from Saudi Arabian sources. Making a closer relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia more troubling are fears that China would take the opportunity to project its strategic interest in the Middle East through its close relationship with Pakistan.
Given Saudi Arabias limited human resources and science and technology infrastructure, however, Western governments do not appear worried that the country will any time soon be able to itself develop a nuclear weapons capability.
And after many years of delays at the top of the government, Saudi Arabia allowed a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter into force in 2009. The IAEA, however, is currently prevented from inspecting any nuclear activities in the country because Saudi Arabia has not modifiedas it was requested by the IAEA beginning in 2005its so-called Small Quantities Protocol (SQP). The SQP was established by the IAEA in 1974 to exempt states with little or no nuclear activities from inspections, but in 2005 the IAEAs governing board mandated that it be modified to deter states with SQPs from secretly processing nuclear materials exempt from routine safeguards.
How should the U.S. government respond? Does this mean American firms will soon be able to set up nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia?
No. U.S. firms cannot supply nuclear technology, material, or equipment to Saudi Arabia unless the United States and Saudi Arabia conclude a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement under Section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Acta so-called 123 agreement. So far, the State Department has not been asked by President Obama to negotiate an agreement with Saudi Arabia and its unlikely that Washington will take that step anytime soon.
Concerns about proliferation in the Middle East led the United States to conclude a restrictive 123 agreement with the UAE in 2009. The UAE agreed not to pursue sensitive fuel cycle activitiesuranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessingwhich would produce fissile material useable in nuclear weapons. The United States wants to establish the UAE agreement as the model for all future 123 agreements.
The United States has been negotiating a 123 agreement with Jordan since 2008, but Amman now refuses to forego enrichment and reprocessing. Western diplomats say that Saudi Arabia is also not prepared to conclude an agreement on the same terms as the UAE. The matter is sensitive because a so-called agreed minute in the U.S.UAE agreement implies that the UAE will try to renegotiate if the United States concludes a less-restrictive agreement with another state.
Negotiation of a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia might not happen for a few years during which Washington would evaluate how the U.S.UAE agreement is being implemented.
Any move by the Obama administration to launch a 123 agreement with Saudi Arabia would likely provoke questions or resistance in Congress. There are concerns that U.S. participation in Saudi Arabias nuclear program would be counter to the security interests of Israel. Also for this reason, the United States is reluctant to negotiate an agreement with Riyadh unless it agreed to forego sensitive fuel cycle activities.
Will other foreign vendors fill the void if Saudi Arabia wont agree to U.S. terms for a nuclear cooperation agreement?
The announcement by the United States and Japanese firms last week is an early attempt to participate in Saudi Arabias nuclear development as the country decides whether to move forward with the construction of nuclear reactors. While U.S. firms cant participate until a bilateral agreement is reached, companies from other countries are potential suppliers.
Without a bilateral cooperation deal with the United States and anticipating the restrictions Washington would try to impose on Saudi Arabia through an agreement, Saudi Arabia may elect to contract with French or Japanese firms to set up reactors, following the negotiation of bilateral cooperation agreements with Japan and France. If there is a restrictive bilateral agreement with the United States, however, Saudi Arabia would not be able to import reprocessing and enrichment items from France and Japan.
Still, if there isnt a U.S.Saudi Arabia 123 agreement in place, France and Japan would not transfer enrichment and reprocessing items to Saudi Arabia. Both countries joined other nuclear exporters in the G8 last December in pledging indefinitely not to export items for enrichment or reprocessing to newcomer countries.
Does Saudi Arabia have the necessary means and infrastructure to deploy power reactors?
There is no question that Saudi Arabia has the financial resources. Its industry has experience in setting up conventional power plants as large as 2,500 megawatts, similar to the capacity of a modern nuclear power plant. And the Saudi grid is stable and growing.
As in the case for the UAE, the announcement last week by the three firms suggests that Saudi Arabia may choose to have foreigners take initial control of construction, project management, regulation, and operation of its nuclear power program. Saudi Arabia lacks sufficient skilled human resources and a unified legal framework for implementing nuclear power development on its own. The UAE model may provide Saudi Arabia its blueprint for moving forward.
Questions remain about what lies ahead for Saudi Arabias nuclear energy ambitions, and Saudi Arabian science and technology officials have indicated that the country will likely proceed with caution.
