OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2012. On Monday Russia has signed an intergovernmental agreement with the UAE concerning the cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy, Interfax was told by ROSATOM.

The agreement signed by Director General of ROSATOM Sergey Kirienko and Minister of Energy of UAE Mohammed Al Hamli creates the legal basis for signing commercial contracts in all areas of the cooperation in nuclear power.

In particular, a ROSATOM official said the agreement was necessary for the implementation of 15-year contracts for supply of uranium, its conversion and enrichment for the UAE’s first NPP the Russian party signed with the country’s nuclear power corporation (ENEC).

A total worth of the contracts was reported to amount to USD  3 Billion. UAE Minister of Energy M. Al Hamli estimated a ROSATOM’s share in the contracts as “nearing 50%.”

Earlier, deputy head of ROSATOM Kirill Komarov already said that Techsnabexport and Uranium One Inc. had already got about 50% of supplies of enriched uranium product, which would provide fuel for the UAE’s plant during 15 years. The first deliveries are planned for 2014. Fuel assemblies will be produced by a KEPCO’s division, KEPCO Nuclear Fuels, while the company’s technology will be used to build the NPP.

The UAE were reported to build four nuclear power units to the South Korean technology with a total power capacity of 1,400 MW. The site will be Baraka in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The reactors are planned to start up in 2017-2020.