Riyadh: Saudi Arabia, holder of one-fifth of global oil reserves, aims to build 16 nuclear reactors by 2030 as the nation seeks to cut the amount of crude it burns in generators to meet rising power demand, an official said.
The nuclear plants and solar generation are parts of a plan to diversify energy sources away from crude, Ebrahim Babelli, a consultant with the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy said at a conference in Dubai. The agency, known as KA-CARE, is in charge of developing alternative and renewable energy sources.
Arabian Gulf oil producers are seeking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for power generation to maximise exports of valuable crude and allocate natural gas to petrochemicals production. Growing Saudi oil consumption may lead to less and less being available for export, Babelli said.
Saudi Arabia may spend more than $100 billion (Dh367.8 billion) building nuclear plants over the next two decades, said Abdul Gani Melaibari, KA-CARES's coordinator for scientific collaboration and a professor of nuclear engineering, in an interview with Saudi daily Arab News on June 1.
The nation expects domestic demand for oil and refined products to more than double to 8.3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day by 2028 from 3.4 million last year, Babelli said.
