Russia's state uranium trader Techsnabexport (Tenex) will sign next year at least three deals worth around $1 billion to supply uranium directly to US utilities, Russia's state nuclear firm Rosatom said on Friday. Russia has long sought direct deals with US utilities.
Analysts say this would be more profitable for Moscow than the current programme set up in 1993 and aimed to encourage a nation still rebuilding after the Cold War to extract and use fuel from dismantled warheads. Russia has expressed no desire to renew this 20-year programme, called "Megatons to Megawatts" when it expires in 2013. Instead, the Kremlin has sought lucrative deals to supply fuel directly to power firms on the US market. "It is expected that at least three such deals worth around $1 billion will be signed in 2010."