Ukraine is planning to increase its volumes of uranium enriched

Ukraine is planning to increase its volumes of uranium enriched in the «International Uranium Enrichment Center» (IUEC, Russia), in which the Ukraine State Consortium «Nuclear Fuel» has 10% shares, by transferring unused quotas of other member countries. This is what Gleb Efremov, the IUEC Commercial Director, told the journalists at a press-conference at Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex (Angarsk, Irkutsk Region, RF).
«Recently the Forum «The Ukraine Fuel and Energy Complex: Today and Tomorrow» was held in Ukraine. I took part in its work. Within the framework of this Forum I had a meeting with Mr. Boris Bilyk, Alternate Director General of the State Consortium «Nuclear Fuel». That was one of the issues discussed», - Efremov said.
At the same time Mr. Efremov commented that the matter concerns the transfer of unused quota of Kazakhstan and Armenia for the Ukraine’s benefit.
«It is admitted to transfer quotas», - Efremov explained.
However the IUEC Commercial Director noted that the decision on the quota transfer will be taken only after Kazakhstan’s and Armenia’s quotas have come into effect, which demands appropriate agreements.
«We, the Russian party, think that in order to implement it practically, first of all Kazakhstan’s and Armenia’s quotas have to exists. So far formally there are no such quotas. No supply agreements have been signed either with Kazakhstan or Armenia», - Efremov noted.
He also marked that the IUEC is first of all a mechanism to insure main supplies of nuclear fuel to the Ukraine, which is done according to a contract signed with Russian TVEL company (a part of Rosatom Corporation).
«If Rosatom sees it as a direct use of a more cheap material, it will block it. Why should we provoke internal competition, making first of all Russian suppliers to compete? We act as an insurance tool. The available quota, if there is such, is to be used just to show a possibility of such source to exist. We are not going to supersede the existing commercial market and substitute for the supplies made by TVEL, we insure these supplies», - Efremov stressed.
The «International Uranium Enrichment Center» is a shareholding organization where 70% of shares belong to the State Corporation «Rosatom» (the RF), 10% - to JSC NAC KAZATOMPROM (the Republic of Kazakhstan), 10% - to the JSC «Armenian Nuclear Power Plant» (the Republic of Armenia) and 10% - to the State Concern «Nuclear Fuel» (Ukraine). Uranium enrichment quotas are distributed in proportion to the shares of the member countries in the IUEC authorized capital stock.
«Rosatom’s share shall never drop below 50%+1 share so that not to lose control over a sensitive enrichment technology», - Efremov marked.
«One of our stockholders (the Ukraine) keeps asking whether there is a possibility to increase the IUEC supplies? We have been considering this, examining the issue. There are possibilities, but now I will not go into detail. We also see some segments we can go into, however, there are several political aspects of this issue and I wouldn’t like to make them public so far», - said the IUEC Commercial Director.
For information: the Ukraine’s quota in the «International Uranium Enrichment Center» (IUEC, Russia) permits to enrich uranium in the amounts sufficient to operate 1-1.5 Ukrainian power units a year.
In 2007 Russia together with Kazakhstan established an open joint-stock company the «International Uranium Enrichment Center» to produce enriched uranium hexafluoride, which is the fuel used to manufacture fuel elements for nuclear power plants.
In May, 2012 Alexey Lebedev, the IUEC Director General, informed that an agreement was signed with the State Consortium «Nuclear Fuel» according to which the IUEC got involved into fuel supplies to Ukrainian NPPs, the process realized by Russian TVEL company.