Saudi Arabia will be required to forgo enriching or reprocessing spent uranium if it wants to secure a nuclear-technology-sharing deal with the U.S., Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a letter to the kingdom that addresses bi-partisan non-proliferation concerns about the proposal.
The U.S. has been in negotiations with the Saudis for an agreement that could benefit Westinghouse Electric Co. and other American companies that want to construct or sell nuclear reactor technology to the kingdom.
But that prospect has been met with increasing alarm by Congress and others concerned that the Saudis could enrich nuclear fuel into weapons grade material. Those concerns were heightened after the Trump administration said it might not insist on the so-called “Gold Standard” barring such activities.
Perry seemed to address those concerns in a letter sent earlier this month to the previous Saudi energy minister, Khalid Al-Falih obtained by Bloomberg.
“The terms of the 123 Agreement must also contain a commitment by the kingdom to forgo any enrichment and reprocessing for the term of the agreement,” Perry wrote, referring to the section of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act that discusses transfers of nuclear equipment and material to other nations.
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