By RBJ
Societatea Naţională Nuclearelectrica SA (SNN) and Compania Nationala a Uraniului (CNU) completed the transaction of taking over part of the assets from Plant E of the Feldioara Branch related to the technological flow of the uranium concentrate processing line, according to a press release from the Ministry of Energy.
The process was started in March 2021 and was completed on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, by concluding the sale-purchase agreement. Following the contract, Societatea Naţională Nuclearelectrica SA receives the ownership right over the buildings, immovable and movable assets related to the flow of Plant E of the Feldioara Branch, securing the integrated nuclear circuit in Romania, within a single economic operator, after in August 2021, CNU transferred to SNN the operating license from Tulgheş-Grinţieş.
The delivery-receipt of the goods was made on December 27, 2022, and the price paid by the buyer for the assets was 29,136,141 lei.
Refinery E – Feldioara Branch was built for the processing of uranium concentrate from Romania, providing, exclusively, the necessary raw material for the Pitesti Nuclear Fuel Factory. The E Refinery – Feldioara Branch fulfills all the conditions for operationalization, with strict compliance with national and community legislation, as well as with international bodies – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/EURATOM Supply Agency (ASE).
“A major objective for Romania’s energy security has been achieved by completing this transfer of assets. If until now the integrated nuclear circuit was defined at the level of principles, by law, today it becomes a concrete reality. The National Nuclear Electric Company will be able to carry out all operations necessary for this integrated circuit: uranium mining, through the license from Tulgheş-Grinţieş, the processing of technical concentrates, through the Feldioara factory, the production of nuclear fuel, through the Pitesti Nuclear Fuel Factory, and the exploitation of this fuel, through the Cernavodă Power Plant At the same time, we are witnessing the first M&A transaction in the energy sector between companies in which the state is the majority or sole shareholder, which attests to the level of professionalism of both SNN and CNU, in insolvency,” said the Minister of Energy, Virgil Popescu.
The General Director of the Nuclearelectrica Company, Cosmin Ghiţă, emphasized the strategic importance of the acquisition and the steps for the re-energization of Romania, submitted by SNN.
“The strategic decision to acquire part of the Feldioara assets necessary for the processing of the raw material had in mind the integrated assurance of production capabilities at the level of Nuclearelectrica and, equally, the assurance of the production of fuel bundles and the operation in optimal conditions of FCN Pitesti and CNE Cernavodă, in the context of expanding the capacity of the nuclear power plant and maintaining the nuclear fuel cycle at the national level. We are proud to contribute with Nuclearelectrica’s strategic projects to the re-energization of Romania! This year we have taken many important steps in the development of the Romanian civil nuclear program, both in the retechnology of Unit 1, the project of Units 3 and 4, the development of small modular reactors, the training of a new generation of nuclear scientists and the preparation of the company for the development and operation of the projects and we are happy to crown the year by concretizing the project through which our country will continue to benefit from a combustion cycle integrated nuclear system. I thank the Ministry of Energy, CNU and congratulate the Nuclearelectrica team for their contribution to the successful completion of the acquisition,” said Cosmin Ghiţă.
The largest uranium deposit in Romania is located in the north-east of the country, in Tulgheş-Grinţieş. The uranium mine was opened in the 1950s and closed in the 90s due to economic and financial circumstances. Now the mine opens. According to specialized studies, the average annual mining capacity of uranium ore is 124,000 tons, and financing will be provided from Nuclearelectrica’s own sources and the Ministry of Energy.
