SAUDI ARABIA CAUTIOUSLY CONSIDERING CIVIL NUCLEAR POWER

UNCLAS RIYADH 000161

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TAGS: ENRG KNNP PREL SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ARABIA CAUTIOUSLY CONSIDERING CIVIL NUCLEAR POWER


1. (SBU) Summary: A U.S. interagency delegation briefed KACST VP Dr.
Prince Turki bin Saud January 23 on possible areas of cooperation
with the United States on civil nuclear power. Prince Turki said
KACST would issue a Request for Proposals in the next few months for
a consulting firm to conduct an assessment of the feasibility of
developing a civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia. End
summary.

SAG to Issue RFP "Soon"
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2. (SBU) A U.S. interagency delegation visited the King Abdulaziz
City for Science and Technology (KACST) and briefed KACST VP for
Research Institutes Dr. Prince Turki bin Saud bin Mohamed Al Saud
January 23 on possible areas of cooperation with the United States
on civil nuclear power. ISN/NESS Deputy Director Alex Burkart noted
that President Obama has made clear that the United States supports
the responsible deployment of nuclear power. He emphasized that
with the bilateral civil nuclear cooperation MOU in place (signed
May 2008 and in effect since January 2009),there are many
opportunities to cooperate but the USG is "frankly a little
disappointed" that we have not been able to move further faster. He
said the U.S. group was here in part to find out more about Saudi
goals and recent activities in the nuclear field. Burkart concluded
by stating there are numerous opportunities for cooperation between
our governments, many of which could help Saudi Arabia decide how
best to approach developing a civilian nuclear program, and noting
that the U.S. delegation included experts from technical USG
agencies who were prepared to brief on primary USG infrastructure
development programs.


3. (SBU) Prince Turki emphasized that Saudi Arabia recognized the
importance of nuclear energy and that the Kingdom hoped to have
civilian nuclear power reactors in the future. However, the Saudi
government still needed to study carefully all issues involved,
especially related to environmental, human capital, and construction
costs and requirements. He said KACST plans to issue a Request for
Proposals (RFP) in the next few months to consider economic and
technical aspects related to the deployment of nuclear power, and
U.S. private sector bids would be "certainly welcome." He said
Saudi Arabia was being careful not to "jump in too soon" to nuclear,
and it was focused on building the required Saudi capacity to run
such a program. For example, Turki noted that KASCT had been in
contact with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
regarding nuclear training and research collaborations. All Gulf
countries are moving quickly in pursuit of nuclear power, and small
countries (i.e., the UAE) are racing ahead, but Saudi Arabia needs a
clear economic case for nuclear power to be demonstrated.
Turki said the Kingdom should think before it acts, but "once the
feasibility plan is complete, we will move forward." This will be a
government-wide decision, not just KACST.

Independent Nuclear Regulators
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4. (SBU) The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Mickey
Freeland explained the U.S. nuclear regulatory model to the Prince.
He said that the U.S. nuclear industry has benefited greatly from
the NRC''s independence from other USG entities. NRC is willing to
help Saudi Arabia to develop its capabilities in this area and also
could help KACST or other Saudi institutions participate in key
international organizations. He explained the structure of the NRC
and that it earns 85-90% of its budget from fees. Freeland said NRC
also could help the Saudis develop capabilities regarding the
control of radioactive materials. He touted NRC's transparency and
openness to the public, which helps NRC engage successfully with
other institutions. Prince Turki said he found the presentation
"very useful," and asked about the size of the agency and where is
sits relative to the President's office in the USG bureaucracy.


5. (SBU) Prince Turki said KACST remains responsible for Saudi
nuclear regulation at this stage. Its atomic research institute
spun off a regulatory authority, but this new institution still
falls within KACST. In a country like Saudi Arabia, the number of
Saudis capable of serving effectively as nuclear regulators is
small, he said, so it is a great challenge to maintain the necessary
cadre of professional expertise. Therefore, in his view, it is
necessary to embed the Kingdom's nuclear regulatory authority within
a larger institution. Freeland said the U.S. understood that logic,
and recognized that other nuclear regulatory frameworks (e.g.,
French and Chinese) also have merit.

Possible training and cooperation
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6. (SBU) Matt Van Sickle from the International Safeguards and
Engagement Program (INSEP),National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA),discussed training and workshops that Saudi Arabia could
join. He noted that the Kingdom had sent a participant to a nuclear
safeguards course organized by Sandia in May. Van Sickle also
briefed the Prince on a variety of upcoming regional training
opportunities. (Note: Saudi Arabia did not send representatives to
the 2009 Middle East Infrastructure Preparedness Workshop and sent
one participant to the 2009 Technical Training on International
Safeguards. End Note.) ISN/CTR AAAS Fellow Ben Brodsky described
the Partnership for Nuclear Security (PNS),a Department of State
program focused on engaging nuclear experts in emerging countries
through a number of activities. Brodsky and Van Sickle noted that
both INSEP and PNS provide opportunities in nuclear fields outside
of power generation. ISN/NESS's Marc Humphrey provided a briefing
on the Infrastructure Development Working Group of the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP).


7. (SBU) Burkart said there are many additional training
opportunities that also could benefit KACST and Saudi Arabia. For
example, the USG also spends money training foreign experts through
the IAEA. We are facilitating a program to allow Jordanian
undergraduate students to train remotely on a research reactor at
North Carolina State University via the internet and video
conferencing. This program is much cheaper than the typical cost of
building a research reactor. Prince Turki expressed particular
interest in the "internet reactor" program. Burkart therefore
encouraged Saudi Arabia to send a representative to a IAEA-sponsored
conference on human resource development, to be held in Abu Dhabi in
March, where this concept would be presented in greater detail.

Comment
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8. (SBU)Post very much appreciates the time the interagency team
took to meet with the KACST officials and explain areas of potential
cooperation. Prince Turki's comments confirm that there is still an
active debate within the Saudi Government about whether, and how, to
develop a civilian nuclear program. While a number of Saudi
officials are persuaded they need to pursue options like nuclear
power to address rapidly expanding energy demand, they are also
aware of the challenges involved in ensuring that such a program
would meet its international safety and security obligations. In
that regard, the interagency trip was well timed and very helpful in
explaining potential assistance the USG could offer Saudi Arabia as
it thinks through this issue. We also take careful note of Prince
Turki's news that Saudi Arabia will "soon" issue an RFP for a
consultant to produce a thorough assessment of what it would require
as a welcome serious step forward.

Smith