Semyon Dragulsky, director general of Russian Energy Efficiency Union

– The organization of direct supplies of Russian uranium to the US market is as much important for the United States as it is for Russia

The organization of direct supplies of Russian uranium to the US market is as much important for the United States as it is for Russia.

Quite recently, in mid 2007, the US Government announced that it was going to build new nuclear power plants and to join the global «nuclear renaissance» movement. In its time, the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation curbed free access for Russian uranium products into the US market, except for the products supplied under HEU-LEU contracts.

The amendments signed today by the head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko and US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez give Russian companies direct access to the US uranium market and US companies wishing to build new NPPs — guarantees that they will have fuel for the new plants. Now, the US uranium market will no longer depend on one supplier, USEC.

The adoption of the amendments paves the way for Russian and US companies to direct contacts for supply of low-enriched uranium at market prices starting from 2011. By 2014 (when HEU-LEU agreement expires), Russia is expected to supply 20% of US real fuel, i.e. each fifth of the operating US nuclear power plants will be working on Russian uranium.