New Delhi: India and the United Arab Emirates signed an accord on Monday for the operations and maintenance of the Gulf nation’s first nuclear power plant, alongside a separate 15-year liquified natural gas (LNG) supply deal.
This agreement was part of five pacts inked during the visit of Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to an MEA press note, the MoU was signed between the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited for cooperation in the “operations and maintenance” of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
The Abu Dhabi media office noted that two companies have established a “formal framework to share knowledge and exchange expertise across all areas of nuclear energy development.” No further details were provided.
The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, the first Arab nuclear facility, was constructed by Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of $20 billion, featuring four reactors with a combined capacity of 5,600 megawatts. All four units are now operational.
In addition, Indian Oil Corporation Limited signed a 15-year agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for the supply of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of LNG, primarily sourced from ADNOC’s Ruwais LNG project, according to the Abu Dhabi media office.
ADNOC also signed two further agreements – one to extend its existing oil storage agreement with Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, and another with Bharat Urja for the Abu Dhabi Onshore Block.
Besides, ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, entered into an MoU with the Gujarat government to develop a major food and agriculture park in India, which will feature state-of-the-art technologies.
