US and Saudi Arabia agree ‘pathway’ to nuclear power deal

• US energy secretary shows support
• Saudi Arabia keen to develop capacity
• Details to be announced this year

The US and Saudi Arabia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – are on a “pathway” towards co-developing a civilian nuclear programme for the kingdom, visiting US energy secretary Chris Wright has told reporters.

This is the firmest US public statement yet of support for a Saudi nuclear power generating initiative, a topic of long-running debate between Washington and Riyadh.

Agreement would allow Saudi Arabia to become the second Arab country after the UAE with nuclear power generating capacity.

“It’s a major redirect on the issue of nuclear [power],” said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and energy policy programme at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The objective of any deal would be to put to bed any concerns of a covert Saudi programme to develop nuclear weapons capability, he said.

“Optimistically, it’s a good direction to go [in] but, this being the Middle East, there will still be a lot of challenges to overcome.”

Saudi Arabia wants to develop nuclear power generating capacity to free up more oil for export and limit pollution. The kingdom relies on oil and gas to fuel almost all its power generating capacity, demand for which is growing with the expansion of the population and the economy.

Details of a proposed deal will be announced later this year, Wright said in Riyadh, during a two-week visit to the Gulf region that began on Wednesday.

It would “definitely be a 123 agreement”, he said, referring to a type of agreement that the US uses to export nuclear expertise for civilian use.

“The Saudis make the argument that ‘we [the Saudis] have got uranium deposits at home so we can use those’, but, in fact, their deposits at home are considered to be rather poor,” Henderson said. “Unless oil is very expensive, it [nuclear] is not cheaper.”

OIl is trading at a four-year low on concerns over oversupply in the market, slower global economic growth and trade tensions associated with US tariffs.

Saudi Arabia plans to generate 50 percent of its power from renewables by 2030. 

Discussions with Saudi Arabia around nuclear power come as the US is in talks with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. Hosted by Oman, the US and Iran began talks on Saturday that the White House later described as “very positive and constructive”.

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Saudi Arabia has long stated its desire to develop a military nuclear programme if Iran produces a nuclear weapon.

“Nothing is done until it’s done,” said Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. 

“If we had a dollar for every time that somebody in the State [Department] or the NSC [National Security Council] or the White House talked about broaching a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia…[we would be rich].”