Concern at Saudi nuke plans

Fears the kingdom’s ambition to build reactors may lead to military application

SAUDI Arabia plans to issue a multibillion-dollar tender in 2020 to construct its first two nuclear power reactors and is discussing the project with US and other potential suppliers, three sources familiar with the plans said.

The world’s top oil exporter wants to diversify its energy mix, adding nuclear power so it can free up more crude for export. But the plans are facing Washington’s scrutiny because of potential military uses for the technology.

Saudi Arabia, which aims to mine for uranium, says its plans are peaceful. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said last year that the kingdom would develop nuclear arms if Iran did.

US, Russian, South Korean, Chinese and French firms are in talks with Riyadh to supply reactors, a promising deal for an industry recovering from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“Saudi Arabia is continuing to make very deliberate steps forward although at a slower pace than originally expected,” said one of the sources familiar with the plans.

Saudi officials previously said they aimed to select a vendor late last year, which then slipped to this year. The sources said the tender would now be issued next year.

Two sources said the project was proceeding slowly partly because the kingdom was still in discussions with all potential suppliers rather than narrowing them down to a short list.

The plans had also been delayed by strained ties with Washington, which criticised Riyadh after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October, a source familiar with the talks said.

Riyadh needs to sign an accord on the peaceful use of nuclear technology with Washington to secure the transfer of US nuclear equipment and expertise, under the US Atomic Energy Act. US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last week that the negotiations that began in 2012 were continuing.

The source said Washington had also been seeking to convince Riyadh to sign the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol on extra safeguards for verifying that nuclear technology is used for peaceful applications. The kingdom had so far resisted, the source added.

Saudi Arabia, which sent a “request for information” to nuclear vendors in 2017, is holding workshops with vendors from five nations as part of the pre-tender process, one source said, adding that this was expected to last 12 to 15 months.

The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE), tasked with developing the nuclear programme, has brought in an executive from oil giant Saudi Aramco to help manage the pre-tender consultancy process, two sources said.

The Energy Ministry, overseeing the project, and the kingdom’s international press office did not respond to requests for comment.

KACARE has in the past said the kingdom was considering building 17.6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032, requiring about 16 reactors. But the sources said the focus for now was on the first two reactors and a potentially smaller programme.

Neighbouring United Arab Emirates is building a nuclear power plant, the first in a Gulf Arab state. Iran, across the Gulf, has a nuclear plant in operation.

Saudi Arabia has said it will not sign any deal with the US that deprives the kingdom of the possibility of enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel in the future, both potential paths to a bomb.

South Korea’s state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp, Russian state nuclear group Rosatom, French utility EDF, state-run China National Nuclear Corp and US Westinghouse have expressed interest in the Saudi project. | Reuters