WNN reports that Jordan and Saudi Arabia have signed agreements on cooperation in uranium exploration and carrying out a feasibility study into the construction of two small modular reactors (SMRs) in Jordan.
The agreements were among 15 major investment and economic agreements signed in Amman following a meeting between Saudi Arabia King Salman and King Abdullah II of Jordan. In a statement, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) said an agreement had been signed between the two countries covering the exploration and mining of uranium in central Jordan.
Under a MOU, a feasibility study will be conducted on the construction of two small modular reactors in Jordan for the production of electricity and desalinated water. The main focus of that agreement was on basic and applied research related to nuclear energy and technologies, design, construction and operation, power plants and nuclear reactors. Also included was cooperation in research and exploration for raw materials, plus radioactive waste management.
Although the Saudi Arabia nuclear program is in its infancy, the Kingdom has plans to construct 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years. A 2010 royal decree identified nuclear power as essential to help meet growing energy demand for both electricity generation and water desalination, while reducing reliance on depleting hydrocarbon resources.
In early 2017, China and Saudi Arabia signed a cooperation agreement for a joint study on the feasibility of constructing high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the Middle Eastern country. In 2015, Russia and Jordan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of two 1000 MWe VVER units at Az-Zarqa in central Jordan. A feasibility on the construction of those units is expected to be completed within the next few months.
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