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.

Διαβάστε ακόμα