NUCLEAR EXPORT CONTROLS

Two New Export Control Offices Open in US, E2C2 and the Information Triage Unit

2012-03-08T10:47:00.001+01:00

The Journal of Commerce
March 8, 2012
Link to article
Link to US Government website about the offices

Centers will help speed investigations into possible violations.

Federal officials on Wednesday announced the opening of two offices to expedite the investigation into shippers believed to be illegally exporting high-technology goods or military hardware that require federal approval and licensing.

The Information Triage Unit, operated by the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security, will become the center for the exchange of information from intelligence and law enforcement agencies, as well as offices in charge of administering the control laws.

The Export Enforcement Coordination Center, which will go by the Star Wars-like name E2C2, will coordinate enforcement of activities of a number of agencies, including the FBI, and the departments of Homeland Security and Commerce. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will manage the office.
The two centers are part of President Obama’s multi-year effort to reform and streamline the country’s Cold War-era export control regime. A project is already under way to merge the Commerce Control List with the State Department’s munitions list. The objective is to have a single list of items under the jurisdiction of one control agency.

Russia Offers Jordan To Build 4 Nuclear Reactor Power Plants

2012-03-08T10:37:00.000+01:00

Eurasia Review/World Nuclear News
March 8, 2012
Link

Russia has offered Jordan a deal under which it will construct four nuclear power reactors. The proposal – similar to that offered to Turkey – is separate to the tender to supply the country’s first power reactor, the winner of which is set to be selected by the end of this month.

Rosatom’s reactor export subsidiary AtomStroyExport (ASE) approached the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) in January with a proposal to build four 1200 MWe VVER units, similar to the agreement it reached with Turkey, according to a Jordan Times report reproduced by Rosatom.

According to the report, if all four units are built, 4000 MWe of generating capacity would be added to the grid, more than doubling Jordan’s current generating capacity. This would transform the country from an energy importer to an energy exporter.
In May 2010, an intergovernmental agreement was signed by Russia and Turkey under which Turkey’s first nuclear power plant will be built, owned and operated by a Russian project company. The deal – worth some $20 billion – covers the construction of four 1200 MWe VVER units at the Akkuyu site on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. Russian state nuclear enterprise Rosatom will create a project company subsidiary, which will initially be 100% Russian-owned. In the longer term, Russia may sell up to 49% of the company to other investors from Turkey and elsewhere, but will retain the 51% controlling stake.

If Jordan accepts the Russian offer, the project would be implemented outside of the framework of the ongoing tender process to select the supplier of the country’s first power reactor. JAEC chairman Khaled Toukan stressed that the Russian offer would not influence Jordan’s selection of the winning bid.

The invitation to tender for the turnkey plant was announced in January 2011 with three vendors subsequently shortlisted in May: an Areva-Mistubishi Heavy Industries consortium, Russia’s AtomStroyExport and Canada’s SNC-Lavalin International. The designs under consideration are the Atmea1 pressurized water reactor, the AES-92 model VVER-1000, and the Enhanced Candu-6 pressurized heavy-water reactor. The vendors submitted their technical offers to JAEC in July 2011. Their financial proposals were submitted the following month. A specially formed tenders committee is expected to select the winning bid by the end of this month. A financial adviser to assist the project will also be announced. JAEC expects to sign an engineering, procurement and construction contract in mid-2012.

JAEC expects to start building a 750-1100 MWe nuclear power plant in 2013 for operation by 2020 and a second one for operation by 2025. Longer-term, four nuclear reactors are envisaged. Further nuclear projects are likely to involve desalination.

Talks Open for Canada-UAE Nuclear Cooperation

2012-03-07T13:51:00.000+01:00

The National
March 7, 2012
Link

The UAE has "strong and excellent" relations with Canada and is a main hub for trade in the region, Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said in Ottawa.

The UAE's investments in Canada total around US$10 billion (Dh36.7 billion), he said, during a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart John Baird, in which he "thanked the Canadian Minister for his keen efforts to further strengthen his country's relations", according to state news agency Wam.

"Having more trade between the UAE and Canada, and using the UAE as a hub, is beneficial for both countries," he said.

The meeting in Ottawa signalled a warming of relations after a diplomatic spat over landing rights in Canada for UAE airlines. Talks failed in 2010 after Canada was refused a renewed lease on its military base in the UAE.

The two countries also announced this week that they have begun negotiations for a nuclear co-operation agreement.
Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE hoped Canada would become to become a main supplier for the four nuclear reactors that the UAE is building. He said both parties hoped the nuclear co-operation agreement would be concluded "very soon".

Vietnam Defies Post-Fukushima Qualms and Pursues Nuclear Generation Program

2012-03-05T19:34:00.000+01:00

Calgary Herald
March 5, 2012

Link

Vietnam is bucking post-Fukushima anxiety in Asia over the safety of nuclear power and plans to build 14 reactors by 2030.

Even as the drama at the Japanese nuclear plant was unfolding a year ago, Vietnamese officials reaffirmed the country’s dedication to its reactor building program.

Far from being a deterrent to Vietnam’s nuclear program, said deputy minister of science and technology, Le Dinh Tien, “information and assessments of the blasts at the Fukushima plant will act as a foundation to help Vietnam’s relevant authorities develop appropriate nuclear power programs in the country.”
The Vietnamese electricity authority signed an agreement in October 2010 with the Russian atomic energy company Rosatom for the construction of two nuclear power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province.

Construction of the $10-billion project is due to start in 2014 and the plants are expected to come online by 2020.

Despite the closure of nearly all Japan’s own nuclear generation plants post-Fukushima, the country is still eager to export the technology.

In October last year an industry consortium, International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan, and the Japan Atomic Power Co. signed contracts with Vietnam to design, build and operate another two-reactor plant, also in Ninh Thuan province.

South Korea, which has an aggressive and successful nuclear reactor export industry, is expected to be a third supplier to Vietnam.

The Vietnam electricity authority now relies on hydro generation to provide the bulk of its power, but the country’s booming economy means that it will become a net importer of energy in 2015.

While there have been finds of significant reserves of oil and natural gas under Vietnamese zones of the South China Sea, territorial disputes with China raise uncertainty about developing these resources.

So Vietnam sees building nuclear power plants as essential to its energy security and is undeterred by the Fukushima meltdown after a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Vietnamese and Russian officials say the first plants are designed to withstand earthquakes of up to nine points on the 10-point Richter Scale, and, anyway, are not being built in a seismically active part of the country.

The plants will be far enough away from the sea to be safe from tsunamis and will use modern passive cooling systems rather than the old active systems whose failure led to the Fukushima meltdown.

Japan had 54 nuclear generators in operation before the Fukushima incident and plans for another 14. Now only two are in operation and further plans have been shelved.

There is similar caution about nuclear power across Asia.

China, which planned to generate two per cent of its electricity at nuclear plants by 2020, is reassessing its plans.

Taiwan and South Korea are also taking a hard look at their nuclear reactor programs, and Thailand and Malaysia have abandoned their schemes for nuclear generation.

The Philippines, which built its one and only nuclear plant at Bataan across Manila Bay from the capital in 1986, halted the project after the Chernobyl disaster in April that year.

Years of lobbying to have the plant completed and brought online appeared to be about to pay off last year when the Fukushima crisis occurred. Now the Bataan plant seems destined to continue its present career as a tourist attraction.

The Vietnamese administration, which as a one-party authoritarian government has limited concern for public opinion, realizes it needs to address public anxiety about the safety of nuclear energy.

Part of the Russian contract requires Rosatom to set up an information centre about nuclear generation reactors at the Hanoi Polytechnic University.

It’s one thing to get foreign suppliers to build nuclear plants, but quite another to manage and run them successfully.

Vietnam has a serious shortage of technicians, engineers and scientists capable of overseeing the planned nuclear plants.

So both the Russian and Japanese contracts include commitments to train Vietnamese to run the generators.

Since Japan first signed a nuclear cooperation framework agreement with Vietnam in 2008, about 500 Vietnamese have received training by Japanese companies.

Other countries, such as Britain, have noted the opportunity provided by Vietnam’s need for expertise in the entire cycle of running a nuclear industry. London is offering instruction on developing the necessary legal framework for the industry, managing investment, and planning infrastructure.

Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay: End trafficking in Nuclear Materials Now

2012-03-04T17:26:00.000+01:00

Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 4, 2012
Link

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday highlighted the need to stop the worldwide trafficking in nuclear materials to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.

Speaking at the Philippines-South Korea joint seminar on nuclear safety and security, Binay called for a “clear and universal response” and international cooperation against the illicit trade in nuclear materials.

“Cooperation between countries is still the most viable solution to addressing issues of nuclear safety, security and utilization,” said Binay, citing the events of September 11, 2001, (9/11) in the United States as a chilling reminder of the dangers that nations face.
Network of security

He said the growing number of states participating in the nuclear issue had resulted in a “wide mesh of security and intelligence services that can share relevant information to pursue criminal and terrorist elements.”

He stressed the need for a legal framework that would protect the confidentiality of each member state’s intelligence operations while allowing the efficient prosecution of nuclear materials traffickers.

He said countries should thoroughly examine the merits of making the trafficking in nuclear materials a crime against humanity, given the grave threat of the trafficked materials being used for terrorism.

“The materials being proffered can inflict the most cataclysmic ruin. In the wrong hands, they will bring certain death to entire peoples. The punishment must therefore suit the severity of the offense if we are to render true justice,” he said.

Need for evaluation

Likewise, the Vice President underscored the need to “evaluate” the use of nuclear power to produce electricity in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake of March 2011 that caused the Fukushima nuclear power plant north of Tokyo to rupture.

The joint seminar was organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in cooperation with the South Korean Embassy, as part of the preparations for the Nuclear Security Summit to be held this month in Seoul.

The summit, which aims to advance commitments made during the First Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, DC in 2010, will convene over 50 heads of state who will discuss measures to enhance nuclear security while fostering greater international confidence in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Our own steps

During the seminar, the DFA and DOST, through the Philippine National Research Institute, will present the steps being taken by the government to address issues such as increased coordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency and law enforcement agencies as well as the proper inventory of nuclear materials.

Moscow 'Offered Jordan Nuclear Reactor Deal'

2012-03-04T13:43:00.000+01:00

Power Engineering
March 4, 2012
Link

Russia has approached Jordan with a bid to construct four nuclear reactors to meet the country's electricity needs as Amman closes in on a vendor for the country's first nuclear reactor. According to the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), Russian state-owned Atomstroy Export approached Amman in January with a proposal to construct four Generation III nuclear reactors - similar to a $20 billion mega-deal inked between Moscow and Istanbul in 2010 under which the firm will build four reactors to meet up to 70 per cent of Turkey's electricity needs. "Russia came forward with a proposal to construct four reactors similar to their project in Turkey - which is something we will consider closely further down the line," JAEC Chairman Khaled Toukan told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.
The projected plants would add 4,000 megawatts (MW) to the national grid - more than double Jordan's current electricity generation capacity and transform the Kingdom from energy importer to an electricity exporter. According to observers, the Turkey-Russia deal's build-own-operate model - under which the firm agreed to bear construction costs and retain ownership of the plant - is an attractive selling point for cash-strapped Jordan, which has listed financing among the deciding factors in its selection of a reactor vendor. If accepted, the project would be implemented outside the framework of an ongoing competitive technology selection process - in which Amman is vetting three separate firms for the construction of a single 1,100MW reactor in northern Jordan. Toukan stressed that the offer will not influence Amman's selection of a vendor for the country's first nuclear reactor - with JAEC expected to select among Atomstroy Export, Canada's AECL and a joint venture comprising Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and French firm AREVA by the end of the month. Amman has prioritised nuclear energy as key to weaning Jordan off energy imports - which the Kingdom relies upon for 98 per cent of its electricity generation needs at a cost of one-fifth of the gross domestic product. Ongoing disruption in Egyptian gas supplies has placed an added urgency to Jordan's quest for energy independence, forcing the government to raise electricity prices last month by an average of 9 per cent in a move that has sparked a popular backlash?

Iranian Scientist Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi Arrested in US

2012-02-29T10:17:00.000+01:00

Canadian Business
February 29, 2012
Link

For one 55-year-old professor, what started out as an overseas trip to the doctor has become part of the shadowy U.S. struggle with Iran.

The arrest in Los Angeles in December of Seyed Mojtaba Atarodi, a U.S.-educated electrical engineer who teaches at a leading Iranian university, comes as the U.S. uses export controls to try to restrict Iran's acquisition of U.S. technology, including for its military and nuclear programs.

But the Atarodi case bears another hallmark of the long-running U.S.-Iran conflict: It's cloaked in secrecy.
U.S. officials won't discuss the case or confirm that Atarodi has been charged. He has appeared in federal district court in San Francisco at least twice, but both proceedings were closed. The indictment against the Iranian microchip expert, who holds a U.S. green card granting permanent residency status, remains sealed nearly three months after his arrest at Los Angeles International Airport as he arrived from Iran.

Both governments have "a political stake in the outcome," Atarodi's lawyer, Matthew David Kohn, said. He added that he was not at liberty to discuss the case further.

Atarodi's colleagues at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran say the engineer has been charged with violating the long-standing U.S. trade embargo on Iran by purchasing what they claim was routine lab equipment from the U.S. It's not clear how much or what kind of equipment that included.

In an open letter, the faculty council said Atarodi's academic freedom was being violated. "In what way has he hurt the interests of America?" they said.

It's not clear how Atarodi purchased the equipment. The U.S. is engaged in a global crackdown on front companies and middlemen who acquire U.S. technology and materials despite a trade embargo, export controls and international sanctions.

Perhaps because of the secrecy, the case has drawn relatively little attention in the U.S. But Iranian officials have publicly denounced the arrest, linking it to the killings of nuclear scientists in Iran, which the Islamic republic blames on Israel.

"Such measures are in line with the inhuman policy of assassinating Iranian scientists and reveal the deceptive nature of Washington's allegations against the Iranian nation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Jan. 29, according to Iran's Press TV.

Atarodi arrived in Los Angeles from Iran planning to consult with his brother's cardiologist about what he described as a serious heart condition, supporters say. He was promptly arrested and locked up for almost two months.

Now, Atarodi said in an email interview, he spends most of his time confined to his brother's Los Angeles-area home awaiting trial. A court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said Atarodi was released after posting $460,000 bond and has been ordered to wear a tracking device.

Atarodi said he worries about his wife, five children and extended family. "My wife struggles with her own heart problems and diabetics and my ill mother is dependent on me for financial support," he said in the email exchange, which was conducted with Kohn serving as intermediary.

The microchip researcher said he specializes in the design of integrated circuits used for communications, biomedical applications and consumer electronics. "My academic and research activity ... has no association whatever with non-consumer and government uses," he wrote.

Professor John Choma of the University of Southern California, who has known Atarodi since he was a graduate student there in the 1990s, said Atarodi has designed high-performance electronic filters that can be used in a variety of communications devices to screen out unwanted frequencies.

"It's possible (it could be used) for a military application," Choma said. "It could be used in a (missile) guidance system, I suppose. But I'm not aware it's ever been used in that way." Overall, Choma said he would be surprised if Atarodi was engaged in clandestine work.

A 2006 academic paper co-authored by Atarodi lists him as working for the Microelectronic Research and Development Center of Iran, known as MERDCI.

MERDCI was an arm of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, which was sanctioned in July 2010 by the European Union for alleged involvement in research and development related to Iran's nuclear and missile programs, and the "procurement (of) advanced manufacturing technology in order to support them."

The Obama administration repeatedly has said it believes Iran is assembling everything it would need to one day manufacture nuclear weapons, although there is no evidence it has made the decision to start building a bomb. Iran insists it is interested only in the peaceful uses of the atom.

Atarodi said he was "fully disconnected" from MERDCI by 2010, the date the sanctions were adopted.

"As the name shows, MERDCI was involved in the research and development of integrated circuits," he wrote. "It was also involved in projects for the automobile industry (e.g., hands-free mobile system for cars.)"

He said he worked only on civilian projects at the center, "but, unfortunately, none of them has been finished."

MERDCI appears to have been disbanded a few years ago.

India's Ranjan Mathai to Take up NSG Membership Issue at Vienna Meeting

2012-02-28T10:23:00.001+01:00

The Hindu
February 28, 2012
Link

While no decision on the grant of membership is expected at the first major interaction since May last year, the Indian delegation will raise it after updating the NSG on the ground covered by it on harmonising the NSG control list with India's export control systems.

It is India’s refusal to sign the NPT that has made it tough for it to join the NSG as well as other international export control regimes —the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. But as compared to Pakistan, which is also keen on joining the NSG, India’s path has smoothened after the NSG allowed it to join the global nuclear commerce mainstream. This led to India inking civil nuclear agreements with several countries including the US, Russia and France who will now set up nuclear energy based power plants and transfer technology.

Government sources said the upcoming one-day meeting will also see NSG updating the Indian delegation on the developments that have taken place including the tightening of norms relating to the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology. India will explain its commitment to non-proliferation and attempts to meet international standards in this regard besides state its willingness to discuss the Fissile Missile Cut-off Treaty.

India has been engaged in a major way with the NSG since 2010 during an interaction in Budapest. At that time the Indian delegation was not led by the Foreign Secretary as was the case last year when Nirupama Rao headed the team for the meeting at The Hague.

Although several countries feel India as a NPT non-signatory should not be given membership, civil nuclear technology giants such as U.S., France and Russia have promised to back its bid as they feel its case is different from that of Pakistan and Israel.

The NSG was a Western initiative primarily aimed at emasculating India’s nuclear industry after it conducted a nuclear explosion in 1974. Since then, it became a closed cartel that permitted only five countries to maintain nuclear arsenals while seeking to punish others which sought such a route. India, Pakistan and Israel were not made NSG members (North Korea subsequently walked out) because they did not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which seeks to roll back their nuclear weapons programme and allow this to only five countries – the US, France, China, Russia and the UK.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will put forward India’s case for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the world's premier non-proliferation body, in an outreach meeting with its key members on Thursday in Vienna.

While no decision on the grant of membership is expected at the first major interaction since May last year, the Indian delegation will raise it after updating the NSG on the ground covered by it on harmonising the NSG control list with India's export control systems.

The NSG was a Western initiative primarily aimed at emasculating India’s nuclear industry after it conducted a nuclear explosion in 1974. Since then, it became a closed cartel that permitted only five countries to maintain nuclear arsenals while seeking to punish others which sought such a route. India, Pakistan and Israel were not made NSG members (North Korea subsequently walked out) because they did not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which seeks to roll back their nuclear weapons programme and allow this to only five countries – the US, France, China, Russia and the UK.

It is India’s refusal to sign the NPT that has made it tough for it to join the NSG as well as other international export control regimes —the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement. But as compared to Pakistan, which is also keen on joining the NSG, India’s path has smoothened after the NSG allowed it to join the global nuclear commerce mainstream. This led to India inking civil nuclear agreements with several countries including the US, Russia and France who will now set up nuclear energy based power plants and transfer technology.

Government sources said the upcoming one-day meeting will also see NSG updating the Indian delegation on the developments that have taken place including the tightening of norms relating to the transfer of enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) technology. India will explain its commitment to non-proliferation and attempts to meet international standards in this regard besides state its willingness to discuss the Fissile Missile Cut-off Treaty.

India has been engaged in a major way with the NSG since 2010 during an interaction in Budapest. At that time the Indian delegation was not led by the Foreign Secretary as was the case last year when Nirupama Rao headed the team for the meeting at The Hague.

Although several countries feel India as a NPT non-signatory should not be given membership, civil nuclear technology giants such as U.S., France and Russia have promised to back its bid as they feel its case is different from that of Pakistan and Israel.

GOV/2012/9 Latest IAEA Iran Report

2012-02-28T09:15:00.001+01:00

"Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the
Islamic Republic of Iran"

February 24, 2012

IAEA

LINK

Jordan and Qatari Bank in Nuclear Energy Discussions

2012-02-27T10:05:00.003+01:00

The National
February 27, 2012
Link

A Qatari bank is in talks with Jordan to back the Arab world's second nuclear energy programme.

Qatar Islamic Bank's UK subsidiary has held discussions with the government in Amman to help finance or even take part-ownership in Jordan's planned US$5 billion (Dh18.36bn) plant, said Khaled Toukan, the chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission.

"They were interested in becoming financiers for the government of Jordan in terms of providing money for the debt and also in terms of becoming a potential investor," said Mr Toukan, adding that the discussions were preliminary.
Bank officials in the UK and Qatar did not respond to requests for comment.

Jordan plans to select its reactor technology by the end of next month from among three consortiums - Canadian, Russian and one comprising the French, Japanese and British - with the winning bidder expected to take an equity partnership of at least 49 per cent. Construction is to start in 2014 and power generation in 2020.

In addition to the Qatari interest, Jordan has secured promises from the Russian government and French, Japanese and Canadian export credit agencies to help finance the plant if their consortiums win, which would be backed by a mixture of 30 per cent equity and 70 per cent debt, said Mr Toukan.

Jordan's progress in securing financial backing sets the stage for other developing nations to build their own nuclear reactors, which cost billions of dollars to construct but offer the long-term prospect of cheap energy with zero carbon emissions.

So far, the only Arab nation more advanced in its civil nuclear programme is the UAE, which has a $20bn programme scheduled to begin delivering power in 2017.

Jordan's selection process also hinges on safety adaptations, from a reactor's ability to withstand an aircraft crash to a core-catcher that would contain any radioactive material in the case of a meltdown.

Safety considerations, heightened after last year's Fukushima accident in Japan, are part of the justification for requiring a foreign operator to invest in the plant.

"The issue is not just in terms of helping on finance," said Mr Toukan. "The issue is we want to establish a robust culture of safety in the operation of the plant."
Jordan, home to the world's 11th-biggest uranium deposits, also harbours long-term hopes of becoming a provider of nuclear fuel to the Arab world.
With a foreign partner assisting in enrichment, Jordan could contribute to an Arab fuel bank that would mirror an existing international one, Mr Toukan proposed.
"At the end of the day, Jordan is not thinking of enriching in the near future. However 10 or 15 years down the road, we would like to have a fully sustainable supply," he said. "It will have huge economic benefits for the country and for the region in terms of sustainability of fuel independence and reliance."
These goals have led to a stand-off with the US, which had hoped Jordan would sign a nuclear cooperation agreement that would include a promise not to pursue enrichment or reprocessing.
"We will be interested in signing a standard '123 agreement' with the US. We see no reason to adopt a gold standard," said Mr Toukan.
"The issue is not just enrichment. The position is giving up any sensitive nuclear technology indefinitely, and that to us is just unacceptable. If it is a fair agreement we will be more than happy to sign it."

Kazakhstan to Expand Nuclear Cooperation with India

2012-02-26T10:15:00.000+01:00

New Europe Online
February 26, 2012
Link

Kazakhstan's ambassador Doulat Kuanyshev recently stated that Kazakhstan is keen to expand civil nuclear ties with India, Gazeta.kz reported.

He urged that both strategic partners should look beyond and enhance ties in the nuclear sector, and let Kazakhstan's atomic power company Kazakhprom and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited expand cooperation. “We should look beyond. Kazakhstan is among main exporters of natural uranium in the world and India has the potential to increase its nuclear power capacity,” Kuanyshev said.

He added that agreement between Kazakhprom and NPCIL is on and it is going quite successfully. He said the next scheduled delivery of fuel for India's nuclear power plants was next year and the process according to him will be till 2014.
Asked if Kazakhstan was ready to meet India's oil needs, if it reduces its fuel dependency on Iran in the wake of US and EU sanction, the envoy said, “There is potential for soft operations with Iran.... We can do soft operations, and it can find benefits with countries like India.” Maintaining that no discussion has taken place in this regard, the ambassador said, "We can supply oil to refineries in Northern Iran, while we can accept our oil from the Gulf ports of Iran. But there are no specific discussions of these matters, they are unfortunately covered by sanctions."

Armenian-Georgian Drills on Prevention of Illegal Transportation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

2012-02-24T11:30:00.000+01:00

Public Radio of Armenia
February 24, 2012
Link

Armenian-Georgian drills on revealing and preventing the transportation of weapons of mass destruction were held in Yerevan February 21-23 under the auspices of the US Government.

The exercises, featuring Armenian and Georgian experts of the sphere, as well as specialists from the US, aimed at discussing the procedures of reacting to the illegal transportation of weapons of mass destruction and its components across the Armenian-Georgian border.

The drills focused also on nuclear and radioactive threats and illegal transportation of goods of dual use. Armenian-Georgian field trainings on the above-mentioned challenges will be held in June of the current year.

Position of the Council at First Reading with a View to the Adoption of a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Amending Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 Setting Up a Community Regime for the Control of Exports, Transfer, Brokering and Transit of Dual Use Items

2012-02-24T10:32:00.000+01:00

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/11/st18/st18144-re01.en11.pdf

Bahrain Scraps Nuclear Power Plan

2012-02-23T11:24:00.000+01:00

Steel Guru
February 23, 2012
Link

Trade Arabia reported that Bahrain has abandoned its plans to adopt nuclear power as an alternative power source.

Dr Abdulhussain Mirza energy minister of Bahrain said that the Kingdom had been exploring nuclear energy as an alternative power source but scrapped the idea following an explosion that crippled Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant last year.

An earthquake and tsunami on March 11th 2012 caused the world’s worst nuclear crisis at Fukushima since 1985.

Turkey Mulls Cooperation with China in Nuclear Energy

2012-02-22T14:54:00.000+01:00

World Bulletin
February 22, 2012
Link

Turkey has expressed willingness to do nuclear business with China in Ankara's declared drive to build three nuclear power plants in the next decade as talks with South Korea and Japan were underway with an already-wrapped-up deal with Russia for Turkey's first ever nuke plant.

"A process of dialogue will begin between the Turkish Energy Ministry and our Chinese counterparts," Ali Babacan, Turkish deputy premier, told reporters Wednesday after a business forum meeting between China and Turkey in Istanbul.

Turkey's first nuclear power plant in the country's southern province of Mersin will be build by Russia under an agreement signed in May 2010 and the construction is planned to begin in 2013.
"For the first plant we have agreed with Russia. And for the second one, we are negotiating with Japan and South Korea. But there is a third nuclear plant project we aim to do. And it depends on the course the talks will take whether the second or the third plant would be commissioned to the Chinese," Babacan said.

Mongolia Seeks Cooperation with Japan in Nuclear Energy

2012-02-21T10:25:00.000+01:00

Mongolia Seeks Tie-ups with Japan in Nuclear Energy, Rare Earths
Utility Products, Power Industry News (Copyright Kyodo News Service)
February 21, 2012
Link

Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold has called for boosting economic cooperation with Japan in the areas of nuclear energy and development of natural resources such as rare earth minerals.

In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Batbold said he plans to visit Japan in March and expressed eagerness to forge cooperation with Japan as Mongolia, which also has rich uranium reserves, plans to build its first nuclear power plant.

"Japan possesses high technology in the peaceful use of nuclear power and has lessons from Fukushima," he said, referring to Japan's recovery from a deadly accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of a massive earthquake and tsunami in March last year.
The two governments are arranging a trip by Batbold to Japan from March 10 to 15, including a meeting with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, as part of events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Batbold expressed willingness to start negotiations with Japan on an economic partnership agreement, which is broader than a free trade agreement as it covers elimination of tariffs plus liberalization of investment, protection of intellectual property rights and free movement of labor.

"I would like to make an EPA one of key agenda items" in a meeting with Noda, Batbold said.

"I expect bilateral investment to double in three to four years after an EPA takes effect," he said.

"Mongolia is rich in resources and Japan has high technology. There are many areas of cooperation for mutual benefit," the prime minister said.

"We would like to see an introduction of cutting-edge technology from Japan," he said, urging Japanese companies to invest in Mongolia in areas such as manufacturing and infrastructure building.

Canadian-China Uranium Deal Poses Proliferation Risks

2012-02-21T10:22:00.000+01:00

iPolitics (Canada)
February 21, 2012
Link

Canada is tempting fate by increasing uranium exports to China at a time of deteriorating nuclear stability in South Asia, nuclear non-proliferation experts suggest.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada will increase uranium exports to China under a new, soon-to-be-finished protocol that would ensure the nuclear material will only be used in civilian power plants.

But transparency gaps and a growing geopolitical tit-for-tat over nuclear technology between China, India and Pakistan have experts worried about whether Canada may contribute to an increase in nuclear weapons in the long term.
“It is a dangerous part of the world in terms of nuclear proliferation,” said Paul Meyer, senior fellow at the Simons Foundation, a non-proliferation institute based at Simon Fraser University and a former Canadian ambassador to the Office of the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament.

“There are also issues related to China’s approach to nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament obligations,” Meyer said.

The Harper government also signed a nuclear co-operation deal with India in 2010, marking a trend that is denting global non-proliferation constraints.

“Unfortunately these initiatives by the Canadian government have been injurious to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime,” said Meyer.

Canada and China have different rules with regards to nuclear material under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a nearly universal agreement to reduce nuclear weapons while permitting peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

Canada, as a member without nuclear weapons, must not contribute to the construction of weapons in another country. China, as a country with nuclear weapons, is obliged to enter negotiations to reduce its nuclear arms.

Those rules are enforced by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors civilian nuclear facilities around the world.

Though details are scarce, Canada’s new uranium deal is expected to permit the export of unprocessed uranium to China, which will be destined for conversion facilities in China. These conversion plants are not subject to IAEA standards, creating a gap in Canada’s ability to keep track of uranium, said Meyer.

“We don’t have good tracking of the material during the conversion process prior to its introduction into the facility that is subject to IAEA safeguards,” he said.

Even if a solution if found, the deal may allow China to divert internal uranium production toward weapons, said Wade Huntley, senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey California and former director of the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research.

“There’s no guarantee that the uranium that China imports will replace its supply from other sources that can be used for military purposes,” said Huntley.

Though there is no hard evidence of China breaching its obligations under the NPT, both experts pointed to an erosion of non-proliferation standards as tension between South Asian nuclear states China, India and Pakistan heat up.

China’s economic growth — and the need to fuel a massive expansion in nuclear power plants — is partly to blame for the erosion, said Huntley.

But more importantly, a 2008 deal that allowed the United States to co-operate on nuclear affairs with India is what really set the ball rolling.

India is not a member of the NPT and normally wouldn’t be allowed to perform nuclear trade without doing so.

But the U.S. convinced the Nuclear Supplies Group (NSG), another global nuclear regulator, to grant it an exemption to co-operate on nuclear technology with India on the basis that the latter is a responsible country with regard to nuclear practices.

“China was not thrilled with this move because it has a traditional relationship with Pakistan, and the exemption for India weighed into the strategic balance in the South Asian region,” Huntley said.

The deal gave India all the benefits of being an NPT member without any of the obligations, said Meyer.

“It has really weakened the regime globally and not surprisingly you have voices like Pakistan who say ‘why not have a deal for us?’” he said.

China has historically helped Pakistan develop its nuclear sector, despite evidence that a rogue Pakistan scientist, A.G. Khan, enabled Iran and North Korea to get their hands on nuclear material.

Since the U.S.-India deal was finalized, China has helped Pakistan further, entering into agreements to provide nuclear material on the basis that the relationship predates China’s entry into the NPT and the NSG.

“(The relationship) is still a point of contention in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the U.S. has been quite critical of China in taking that stance,” said Meyer.

China hasn’t always been the world’s biggest boy scout when it comes to its international obligations either.

It is the only member of the five major nuclear powers to not officially confirm it has stopped producing nuclear weapons material, said Meyer. It has also supported Pakistan’s blockage of other nuclear treaties.

China also hasn’t entered in negotiations to disarm and reduce its nuclear weapons, he said. It’s believed China has about 250 warheads.

With India modernizing its nuclear weapons, and the U.S. continuing its plans to develop missile defence systems, China will likely continue to be unreceptive to its obligations, said Meyer.

At the same time, China has been eager to strengthen its own internal controls over its nuclear trade with other countries, countered Huntley.

“China’s decision-making is being pushed and pulled in different directions; by its interest in maintaining the relationship with Pakistan on the one hand and its interests in maintaining a good reputation globally on the other,” he said.

Throughout this spat, multiple countries have signed deals to sell nuclear material to India. China signed a deal with Australia in 2008 to buy its uranium.

While the Canadian agreement may not present a threat in the short-term, coming on the heels of other less-stringent agreements, Canada’s actions do pose a concern.

“The important question is how are these short-term deals adding up to long-term trends,” said Huntley. “A general loosening of non-proliferation norms can bite you back down the road.”

Huntley recalled the scandal that erupted after Canadian nuclear material was allegedly used during India’s testing of nuclear weapons in the 1970s, prompting an end of nuclear co-operation between the countries for decades.

“It could be that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it,” he said.

Site Updates - Nuclear Export Controls is on Twitter

2012-02-20T17:17:00.001+01:00

-The conference, course, and workshop page has been updated until December 2012; to add an event please contact andrea.viski@eui.eu

-The above e-mail will be changing soon, as the PhD is near completion (all that remains is the defense, in the spring) and a new job awaits

-After the success of the Facebook page, the site can now be followed via Twitter at https://twitter.com/StrategiControl
See the link to at the upper right hand corner

Iran Can Export 20% Enriched Nuclear Fuel

2012-02-17T21:23:00.000+01:00

Ahlul Bayt News Agency (Iran)
February 17, 2012
Link

"Islamic Republic of Iran is even ready to export its 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel to those countries which require such fuel," Abbasi told reporters.

He pointed out that IR Iran us a country that has access to technology of production of 20-percent nuclear fuel and it has also the capability of exporting this valuable commodity and it is quite logical that other countries to purchase such commodity from Iran under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by signing contracts with Iran.

"It was a time that we had to buy the 20-percent nuclear fuel from abroad due to the fact that design and setting up a factory to produce such fuel was not cost-effective in economic terms," Abbasi added.

He pointed out that because of sanctions imposed on Iran and creating obstacles by certain countries to prevent Iran from producing 20-percent nuclear fuel, the Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to invest, design and set up factory for producing this kind of fuel.

Jordan, US Resume Nuclear Talks

2012-02-17T13:52:00.000+01:00

Zawya
February 17, 2012
Link

Jordan and the US resumed talks over a stalled nuclear cooperation on Thursday, following a reported reversal in Washington's policy toward states' nuclear enrichment rights.

A US delegation was in Amman for a one-day visit on Thursday to reopen talks on a cooperation agreement that has been stalled for nearly three years due to Washington's reservations over Jordan's right to uranium enrichment.
According to US embassy in Amman spokesman Karl Duckworth, the delegation, headed by US State Department Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defence Ellen Tauscher, explored a nuclear trade pact with Amman as part of Washington's wider support for civil nuclear energy programmes in the region that meet "international standards for safety, security and non-proliferation".

Talks between the two countries fell apart in 2008 over the US' insistence that Jordan sign an agreement similar to the so-called 123 agreement reached between Washington and the UAE that same year, under which Abu Dhabi waived its right to uranium enrichment -- a condition Amman opposed.

Although the Kingdom's peaceful nuclear programme does not entail immediate plans for enrichment, energy officials have insisted that Jordan retain the right to utilise the country's strategic uranium reserves -- which various estimates place between 30,000-100,000 tonnes -- as fuel in the future.

According to US diplomatic sources, Washington eased the condition following opposition from several emerging nuclear states and amidst concerns that the ongoing delays in nuclear cooperation deals were harming US nuclear technology exports.

The US embassy in Amman denied any changes in policy regarding nuclear cooperation and proliferation.

The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) described the visit as a "positive step forward", expecting the two sides to enter accelerated talks leading to an agreement "within months".

"It seems that the US is viewing each country on a case-by-case basis, and we are confident that with this change in policy and the desire of both sides to reach an agreement, we will sign an agreement soon," JAEC Chairman Khaled Toukan told The Jordan Times.
Although the lack of a nuclear cooperation agreement prevented US vendors from competing for the construction of the Kingdom's first nuclear reactor, with Amman set to select among three-short-listed firms next month, Jordan has not ruled out considering American technology for future reactors.

Jordan is currently vetting proposals by three manufacturers -- Canada's AECL, Russian AtomStroy Export and a French-Japanese consortium comprising Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and AREVA -- for the construction of a 1,000-megawatt reactor in the northern Governorate of Mafraq.

Also yesterday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with Tauscher to discuss potential nuclear cooperation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Uranium Firm Cameco Lobbied Feds to do Export Deal with Fewer Safeguards

2012-02-13T13:34:00.000+01:00

iPolitics (Canada)
February 13, 2012
Link

Saskatchewan’s Cameco Corporation, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, lobbied the federal government to sign a deal with China to export a form of uranium that requires fewer international safeguards.

The deal was announced last week when Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in China.

The agreement, called an export protocol, will permit the sale of uranium concentrate to China, most commonly known as yellowcake, which is less refined and also less stringently monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency than other varieties of the radioactive ore.

According to the federal lobbyists’ registry, Cameco deployed several in-house lobbyists and staff, including president and CEO Tim Gitzel, to target key ministers, including Minister of International Trade Ed Fast, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, in the months leading up to the deal going public.
Cameco’s most recent filings suggest lobbying over a wide range of issues, including a push to negotiate nuclear cooperation agreements with foreign countries and set up interim export protocols while more permanent agreements were negotiated. The registry provides a list of topics the company discussed with public officials and a list of meetings between them. Though the registry does not point out what was discussed during a particular encounter, there was a dramatic upswing in meetings beginning last fall.

Cameco is set to profit handsomely from the export protocol since it already has deals to supply 42 million pounds of uranium over the next decade to two of China’s biggest nuclear power companies, the China National Nuclear Corporation and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group.

Cameco, which has an operating mine in Kazakhstan, signed the supply deals in 2010 but, without an export protocol in place, was forced to use non-Canadian ore. Now it will have permission to use uranium mined from its most profitable mines, scattered across the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, where some of the world’s most concentrated uranium deposits are found.

“It’s terrific news for the uranium industry,” said Gord Struthers, a spokesperson for Cameco. “It provides a secure investment in what will be the world’s greatest consumer of nuclear energy.”

China’s leap into nuclear power production is staggering. Already home to 14 reactors, it is building another 25, nearly tripling its use of nuclear energy, according to the World Nuclear Association. It is the world’s largest energy consumer.

Canada has helped China grow its nuclear sector for nearly two decades, after the two countries signed an agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear technology and material in 1994.

China imported Canadian uranium under that deal, but it could only be uranium that had been converted into more processed varieties, thus restricting its use. Under last week’s protocol, which is an amendment to the 1994 deal, China will be receiving yellowcake, the less refined uranium concentrate.

In the past, Canada was skittish about sending concentrate because, unlike the factories that received converted uranium, those that handle concentrate are not overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency. “The accounting standards that were applied were not accepted by the (Canadian) government,” said Struthers.

Canada is expecting some sort of a solution for converting the concentrate over the next few months before finalizing the protocol, said Struthers.

Australia had similar concerns with conversion when it negotiated a deal to sell uranium concentrate to China in 2006.

China agreed that whenever Australian uranium concentrate arrived at a conversion plant, an equivalent quantity of converted uranium would be added to the inventory of a plant that is covered by International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“This will have exactly the same effect as if the yellowcake had moved through the conversion plant,” says the department’s website.

It is not clear if Canada is seeking the same requirement from China. Calls to the Prime Minister’s Office for more details were not returned.

Namibia Pursues Nuclear Energy Dreams With France’s Areva

2012-02-13T12:07:00.000+01:00

New Era (Namibia)
February 13, 2012
Link

Namibia, the fourth biggest uranium producer in the world, first floated the idea of acquiring a nuclear power plant of its own four years ago. Rio Tinto and Australian miner Paladin Energy currently produce Namibia’s uranium.

French state-owned Areva’s Trekkopje project in 2010 received its Export Processing Zone (EPZ) license for a period of five years after Areva reportedly agreed to develop a feasibility study on generating nuclear power in Namibia. Namibia’s nuclear ambitions purportedly enjoy the full support of President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Areva Resources Namibia country manager Hilifa Mbako said only of Areva’s direct involvement in the government’s nuclear energy plans that there was an ongoing “bilateral government dialogue” between France and Namibia and that Areva would “gladly” help if the nuclear possibility “comes about.”

Namibia’s nuclear plans have resurfaced following reports in the Namibian press charging Namibian Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob of facilitating the process to secure an EPZ license for Trekkopje, which he strongly denies, telling The Namibian that he was only part of a “collective and elaborative decision-making process” which also involved the Ministries of Finance and Mines and Energy in granting EPZ status to Areva’s Trekkopje project, remarking, “Whilst I am not at liberty to disclose some discussions held at different levels, because of the confidential nature of those discussions, it suffices to say that all necessary consultation with the relevant parties was done, resulting in Areva being granted EPZ status for a period of five years to carry out certain studies, of which I am not at liberty to disclose at this juncture.”

If it goes forward, the Trekkopje project represents the culmination of Areva’s more than five years’ efforts in the African country, which have been beset by problems, including cost overruns. In 2007, following Areva’s controversial $2.5 billion purchase of Canadian uranium miner UraMin, Areva said it expected UraMin’s deposits in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic to produce around 7,000 tons annually from 2012. In late 2011 French Industry Minister Eric Besson said that UraMin was “bought at a very high (cost) level.”

But Namibiaís nuclear efforts have also attracted the attention of the global non-proliferation community. The White House Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) is keeping a close eye on events in Namibia, concerned that Namibian uranium might fall into the wrong hands. In February 2010 the GTRI requested that Rio Tinto Rossing Uranium increase its security measures following the arrest in September 2009 of three suspects, one a Namibian Defense Force (NDF) member, for possessing and allegedly wanting to deal in nearly 816 lbs of uranium oxide. The GTRI, which operates under the U.S. Department of Energyís National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), subsequently visited Namibiaís mining facilities, concerned because the government of Iran owns 15 percent of Rossing Uranium.

Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula subsequently said that Namibia’s position on uranium supply is guided by international agreements, which it has to honor and is not shaped by calls from individual nations, remarking, “Unless an international agreement, such as with the United Nations Security Council, calls for countries not to supply to Iran, the Namibian Government treats Iran as any other country.” Rio Tinto Rossing Uranium added that it did not supply Iran with uranium, nor would it do so if approached by Iran, with Rio Tinto Rossing Uranium Manager for External Affairs Jerome Mutumba noting, “The government of Iran became a shareholder at the time when the mine started in the early 1970s, (but) Rossing’s shareholders do not have any product take-off rights.”

Adding to the political sensitivity of the issue, Namibian sources familiar with the topic, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Namibian that former Areva boss Anne Lauvergeon in 2009 approached then Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina about EPZ status for Trekkopje, to which Nghimtina apparently agreed after getting the topic greenlighted by Pohamba.

Anne Lauvergeon was CEO of Areva from 2001 until her dismissal in June 2011 and while there acquired the nickname “Atomic Anne.” On 8 February Lauvergeon asked a French court to appoint an expert to examine the circumstances under which Areva purchased UraMin, as Areva has withheld her $2 million severance bonus.

Saudi Arabia Threatens to Go Nuclear if Iran Does

2012-02-10T13:33:00.000+01:00

Fox News
February 10, 2012
Link

Saudi Arabia would launch a military nuclear program immediately if Iran successfully developed atomic weapons, The Times of London reported Friday.

While Riyadh signed an agreement with the US in 2008 stating that it would only pursue nuclear power for civil purposes, the Saudi government is likely to abandon the deal if Tehran had a nuclear bomb.

"There is no intention currently to pursue a unilateral military nuclear program but the dynamics will change immediately if the Iranians develop their own nuclear capability," a senior Saudi source said.
"Politically, it would be completely unacceptable to have Iran with a nuclear capability and not the kingdom."

In such an eventuality, Saudi Arabia would start work on a new ballistic missile platform, purchase nuclear warheads from overseas and aim to source uranium to develop weapons-grade material.

Officials in the West believe Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have an understanding in which Islamabad would supply the kingdom with warheads if security in the Gulf was threatened.

A Western official told The Times that Riyadh could have the nuclear warheads in a matter of weeks of approaching Islamabad. Other vendors were also likely to enter into a bidding war if Riyadh indicated that it was seeking nuclear warheads.

Both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have denied the existence of any such agreement.

Like the US and many other countries in the West, Saudi Arabia believes that Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons and the kingdom is preparing for a worst-case scenario, the Saudi sources said.

Saudi-China Nuclear Deal

2012-02-07T13:19:00.000+01:00

Gulf Daily News
January 7, 2012
Link

Saudi Arabia has agreed to co-operate with China on the civilian use of nuclear energy as part of a package of deals, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

It did not provide further details on the nuclear co-operation agreement which was signed by Hashim Yamani, president of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, and Zhang Ping, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission. It follows similar agreements signed with France, Argentina and South Korea and the kingdom has held talks with Russia, the Czech Republic, Britain and the US over increasing co-operation in the nuclear energy field.

The A.Q. Khan Network and its Fourth Customer

2012-02-06T18:59:00.002+01:00

LINK