EDF wants to take part in Saudi nuclear plans - CEO

KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co

11/12/2017 17:24

PARIS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - French state-controlled utility 
EDF  EDF.PA  wants to take part in Saudi Arabia's plans to build 
nuclear power reactors, its chief executive told Reuters on 
Monday. 
    Saudi Arabia, which wants to reduce oil consumption at home, 
is considering building 17.6 gigawatts of nuclear-powered 
electricity generating capacity by 2032 and has sent a request 
for information to international suppliers to build two 
reactors.  
    Sources familiar with the situation said last month EDF has 
already held talks with Saudi Arabia about selling 
Areva-designed European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) and that it 
wants to participate in a possible Saudi nuclear tender. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1NZ1YN 
    Levy said that EDF wants to take part in the country's move 
away from relying on fossil fuels for its energy supplies.  
    "We will respond to this opportunity in all the energy 
technologies in which we have competencies, that is in solar, 
wind and nuclear," Levy said. 
    Russian and South Korean companies have already said they 
plan to bid for the Saudi work on nuclear power while sources 
have said Toshiba-owned U.S. firm Westinghouse  6502.T  is in 
talks with U.S. peers to form a bidding consortium.  
    In 2009 EDF and Areva lost out to South Korea's KEPCO 
 052690.KS  in the bidding to build nuclear reactors in the 
United Arab Emirates, the first such project in the Middle East. 
    EDF is set to buy French nuclear group Areva's reactor 
engineering division Areva NP in a deal expected to be finalised 
before the end of this year. Levy said EDF is on track to 
finalise the deal before the end of this month. 
 
 (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Greg Mahlich) 
 ((geert.declercq@thomsonreuters.com; +33 14949 5343; Reuters 
Messaging: Twitter: @gvdeclercq)) 
 
Keywords: EDF SAUDI/