Japan, Tenex negotiate uranium supplies
MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax) - Talks are under way between Japanese companies and Russia's Techsnabexport (Tenex) OJSC in low-enriched uranium supplies despite the crisis at Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, Tenex General Director Alexei Grigoryev has told Interfax.
"Indeed, there are companies that continue talks on supplies of low-enriched uranium, instead of suspending them," he said, adding that new contracts with Japanese companies would be signed next year.
Toshiba Corporation has expressed its desire to cooperate with Tenex, Grigoryev said.
At the same time, he said that the existing projects would most likely be rescheduled due to the post-quake and tsunami situation in Japan.
In 2010, Toshiba and Tenex agreed upon a business plan for a joint venture to sell uranium.
Tenex has been supplying low-enriched uranium to Japan since 1999. In 2009, Russia and Japan signed an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful nuclear energy, which was ratified by Russian parliament in 2011. Also, in 2009, Tenex and Toshiba signed a memorandum of mutual understanding about the possible creation in Japan of a uranium depot that would guarantee uninterrupted fuel supplies to Japanese nuclear plants.
The two companies are planning to create a JV for the production of low-enriched uranium, Grigoryev said.
"Toshiba intends to build new reactors throughout the world. These reactors will need nuclear fuel, so naturally the project envisages the possibility of a JV [to produce low-enriched uranium]", he said.
Techsnabexport, which is 100%-owned by Atomenergoprom incorporated into Rosatom, specializes in the export of nuclear materials and services.
