Why does Saudi Arabia want a civil nuclear deal with the US?

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and the United States are discussing a deal to cooperate on the kingdom’s ambitions to develop a civil nuclear industry, talks that have long been complicated by regional politics and concerns over weapons proliferation.

As the world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia may not seem an obvious candidate for nuclear power, but it aims to reduce carbon emissions and free up crude for export under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic plan. The US Energy Information Administration said last year that 68% of Saudi electricity was generated by burning gas and 32% by burning oil, with 1.4 million barrels a day of crude being used for power generation during the peak month of June. Atomic power could displace some of that, including for energy-intensive water desalination and air conditioning, allowing the kingdom to make more money from oil sales.

However, Saudi Arabia has also said that if old foe Iran develops a nuclear weapon it would have to follow suit -- a declaration apparently aimed at ramping up pressure on Tehran, but which has also fuelled concern about its own ambitions. Any deal with Washington would likely address safeguards to assuage worries about military ambitions, on top of Saudi Arabia’s existing commitment not to pursue a bomb under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). There could be strategic and commercial gains. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright met Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman in April and said the two countries were on “a pathway” to a civil nuclear agreement. He made no mention of a wider deal over other issues such as normalisation. A deal would put US industry in a prime spot to win contracts to build Saudi nuclear power plants as well as providing insight into the kingdom’s atomic programme that could alleviate any U.S. worries over weapons proliferation.