Rosatom is currently the only Russian company that has not been sanctioned part 2

 The only Russian company that is not sanctioned yet (is Rosatom).

 

The reason Rosatom why not sanctioned.

 

But it doesn't end there. In many cases, the Russian company is also responsible for the maintenance and supervision of Russian-technology nuclear reactors around the world. We are talking about approximately 20 percent of the almost 450 reactors in operation.

In other words, we can safely say that Rosatom, in its little more than 15 years of operations, has managed to dominate the international nuclear market. Or at least become the most important player.

"The Russians are hypercompetitive, no one in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] can compete with what they offer". Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, director of the energy and climate center at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales.

Surprised? Well, wait, there's still more, much more. We've only just begun. If you think about it for a moment, the reason why the West has not sanctioned Rosatom cannot only be its nuclear reactor exports. After all, the United States has no Russian

nuclear reactors, and in Europe, nuclear energy has been marginalized for years, and now that it is making a comeback, most of the nuclear technology suppliers are Western or South Korean. Not Russian. So why on earth is Rosatom not being sanctioned at once? What else is in play for this possibility to be completely ruled out for the time being?

Well, here comes perhaps the most interesting part of this whole story. Pay close attention.

For example, have you ever wondered what will happen when oil runs out - which according to predictions will be in about 50 years? Financial sanctions, restrictions on technology purchases, and sanctions on Russian gas and oil were imposed relatively quickly. However, at the time of writing this article, Rosatom had managed to fend off any punishment or restrictions. And this obviously must have an explanation. And it does this company not only designs and builds nuclear reactors, but also enriches uranium. 

And although we can find major Western suppliers here, Rosatom is the world's largest producer of enriched uranium, with about 30 percent of production and almost half of the world's capacity. In addition, it controls 17 percent of the global nuclear reactor fuel market. And according to the company itself, 73 nuclear reactors in 13 different countries run on its fuel. And we are not just talking about the former Soviet nuclear power plants.

 

The cheap nuclear fuel.

 

In 2021, for example, Rosatom provided nearly a quarter of all nuclear fuel used by US nuclear power plants. What’s more, it is estimated that even in a scenario of supplier switching, the Russians will retain at least 15 percent of the pie in the United States in the short to medium term. This is because it is a very slow and costly process to specialize in nuclear fuel production at a reasonable scale and price. Clearly, its market share in Europe is not minor. The Russians provide around 20 percent of all uranium imported into the European Union, behind only Niger and Kazakhstan, as well as 26 percent of enriched uranium. In fact, from time to time, Russian cargo planes can still be seen in European skies flying to countries like Hungary or Slovakia with nuclear fuel, thanks precisely to the exceptions that were introduced to the ban on the entry of Russian aircraft. If they carry nuclear fuel they can fly freely.

But why is all this so important, and is it really so essential to keep Rosatom free from Western sanctions? Well, the truth is yes, and it may not be exactly what you're thinking. Let's take a look at it.

 
Strategic Influence

 

Rosatom is a huge company with a large portfolio of contracts in the nuclear sector. To give you an idea, in 2021 it reported record profits of $20 billion. So we are not exactly talking about a small company. And not only that, in that same year the holding company, Atomenergoprom, in which a large part of Rosatom's activity is unified, had a portfolio of foreign orders of close to $140 billion dollars to be executed over the next decade.

And yes, some of the nuclear reactor construction contracts that swell that huge number of projects are in NATO countries, some of them are even supposed allies of Ukraine. “27 August 2022: Hungary moves ahead with construction of Russian-built nuclear reactors”.

Despite Moscow's war in Ukraine, works at the Paks plant will kick off in 'coming weeks,' Hungary's foreign minister said – Politico. 30 July 2022: Russia's Rosatom signs new construction contract for the Turkish nuclear plant The Turkish government aims to start operating the first reactor at the total 4,800-megawatt (MW) plant before a general election next year. President Tayyip Erdogan has previously suggested that Turkey could work with Russia on the construction of two further plants.

So, reactor construction and maintenance is by far the most lucrative business for Rosatom. In fact, let us give you another fact. The

annual imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia by the United States and the European Union are essential but amount to barely $1 billion dollars a year.

Yes, it is a lot of money, but it is nothing compared to the nearly $200 billion that were imported from Russia in hydrocarbons just before the war. And neither does it come close to what Rosatom earns from its reactor and power plant business.

So, with all this, you may be wondering. so couldn't Rosatom be sanctioned to prevent it from being able to build new reactors and

power plants, while continuing to buy…..

 

Click here to Read part 3