DUBAI - Saudi Arabia is conducting studies into the use of nuclear energy in meeting soaring power demands, the country’s water and electricity minister said on Saturday.Abdullah al-Hussayen said the kingdom is looking at the use of nuclear power on its own as well as in conjunction with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.
"We are looking into the feasibility of nuclear energy (on our own) … and also with the GCC," Hussayen told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.
He said it is too early to say how much power Saudi Arabia expects to generate from nuclear energy.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 exporter of oil and holder of a quarter of the world’s crude reserves, will use nuclear energy along with renewable sources such as wind and solar, Hussayen added.
Oil-rich Gulf states are examining nuclear energy as an option to meet their future power demands as their populations and economies expand.
Gulf governments are channeling hundreds of billions of dollars in industrial, real estate and tourism projects to diversify their economies, sending demand for power generation and water desalination soaring.
Per capita consumption of power and desalinated water in the Gulf is among the highest in the world.
The GCC had planned to set up a joint civil nuclear energy programme, but member states have since gone their own way, signing individual cooperation agreements with countries such as France, the United States and Japan.
Saudi Arabia has already signed a deal with the United States on civil nuclear cooperation and is currently in discussions with France over a similar pact that could lead to the sale of French atomic energy technology.
The UAE has also signed nuclear cooperation deals with South Korea, the United States, France and Japan.
The UAE hopes to open the first nuclear reactor in the Gulf in 2017 as part of a $40 billion nuclear programme.