The government of the United Arab Emirates will sign an agreement Thursday with Japan on the development and use of civilian nuclear power, a Japanese official said.
The government of the
United
Arab Emirates
will sign an agreement
Thursday with
Japan
on
the development and use of civilian nuclear power, a Japanese official said.
The agreement will allow
Japan
and
the U.A.E. to share technology, equipment and nuclear material, Yutaka Yokoi,
press secretary of
Japan
's
ministry of foreign affairs told reporters in
Abu
Dhabi
.
The wealthy Gulf oil producer is seeking to meet its growing energy consumption
without diminishing its crude exports. Last year, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.
secured permission to construct two nuclear power units in the country--the
first in a string of planned plants in the
Persian Gulf
region.
ENEC said in March it has applied to the country's nuclear regulator for a
license to build a third and fourth nuclear reactor in the western area of
Abu
Dhabi
.
Thursday's agreement with this member state of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries, follows similar accords with
Australia
and
Canada
,
which are producers of uranium, and the
U.S.
, the
U.K.
,
South
Korea
,
France
and
Russia
,
which already have large nuclear-power industries.
Several
Gulf states
,
including top oil exporter and fellow OPEC member
Saudi
Arabia
, are looking at nuclear power
after failing in recent years to develop enough gas production to meet their
rising electricity demand, especially during the summer when use of
electric-powered air conditioning soars.
The U.A.E, which produces around 2.6 million barrels per day of crude, is one
of the world's top five power consumers per capita. Currently, around 80% of
the country's power is generated from burning natural gas, while the rest comes
from oil, which the Gulf state wants to preserve for lucrative crude exports.
ENEC signed in August contracts worth $3 billion with six international
companies, including
Russia
's
Tenex, Rio Tinto PLC (
RIO
) and
France
's
Areva SA (ARVCY), to supply nuclear fuel, conversion and enrichment services
for its four South Korea-designed advanced pressurized water reactors. Each of
the four planned reactors is capable of producing 1,400 megawatts of
electricity.
The contracts, which cover the first 15 years of the reactors' operations, will
provide ENEC with long-term security of supply, and favorable pricing and
commercial terms, the company said. ENEC said it expects to return to the
market again when conditions are favorable to strengthen its supply position.
ENEC has already started construction of the first unit in Barakah, in western
Abu
Dhabi
, and is expected to start building its second
reactor this year.
The U.A.E. is investing billions of dollars in developing alternate sources of
energy as part of plans to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons. Its
planned nuclear reactors are set to be the first in a string of civilian power
plants in the
Middle East
, potentially including
Egypt
and
Saudi
Arabia
.
Unlike nearby
Iran
, the
U.A.E. is committed to not enriching uranium itself nor reprocessing spent
fuel.
Hamad al-Kaabi, the Gulf state's national representative to the International
Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, has previously said
that the U.A.E. hasn't yet finalized a strategy for managing spent fuel from
the reactors, but a national waste strategy document is in advanced stages of
negotiation.
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