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Washington bans Russian oil and gas imports over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine war: US bans Russian oil – but what about uranium?
- The US relies on Russia and its allies for roughly half of the uranium powering its nuclear power plants
- Moscow warned of global repercussions to the US blanket ban on the import of Russian crude oil
The US power industry relies on Russia and its allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for roughly half of the uranium powering its nuclear power plants. The industry has been lobbying the White House to continue to allow uranium imports from Russia despite Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
There is no US uranium production or processing, though several companies have said they would like to resume domestic production in Texas or Wyoming if nuclear power producers sign long-term supply contracts.
A White House document released after Biden announced the oil ban and summarising the Russian sanctions did not mention uranium, confirming reporting from Reuters.
Russia’s uranium production is controlled by Rosatom, a state-run company formed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007. The company is an important source of revenue for Moscow, and exempting US uranium imports is likely to fuel continued questions about how American businesses are financially supporting Russia’s economy.
The National Energy Institute (NEI), a trade group of US nuclear power generators, said it supports development of an American uranium industry.
“US utilities contract with a worldwide network of companies and countries for their fuel requirements to mitigate the risks of potential disruption,” said Nima Ashkeboussi, NEI’s senior director of fuel and radiation safety.
Duke Energy Corp and Constellation Energy Corp, two of the largest US power generators, did not respond to requests for comment.
The US Congress has been paying more attention to Russia’s prowess as a global producer of uranium and other metals.
“We need to look at alternative sources (for uranium), including in the United States,” Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this week.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, whose department overseas parts of the American nuclear industry, was slated to address the conference on Wednesday.
Moscow criticised the US decision to impose a ban on energy imports, warning that it could have global repercussions.
“The US sanctions pressure on Russia has long crossed all the boundaries of political and economic sense,” the Russian embassy in Washington wrote on its Facebook page.
“As usual, the United States does not give a thought to the fact that restrictions are always a double-edged weapon,” it said.
The statement added that it was “obvious that the rejection of our resources will lead to significant fluctuations in the global energy markets. It will negatively affect the interests of companies and consumers, primarily in the United States itself”.
Oil prices surged following Washington’s ban and British plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. A UK ban on all imports of Russian oil – taken in concert with the US – applies to refined products such as diesel, which the UK relies on Russia for about a third of its imports. It won’t apply to natural gas.
Banning Russian oil will put further upward pressure on energy prices in the UK, where Britons already face a cost-of-living crisis due to soaring inflation and a tax burden on course to be the highest since the 1950s.
Americans will feel pain, too – at the petrol pump – Biden acknowledged, declaring: “Defending freedom is going to cost”.
Additional reporting by dpa, Associated Press and Bloomberg
