South Korea is getting in on Dabaa: South Korea’s state nuclear power company has signed a KRW 3 tn (USD 2.2 bn) contract with Rosatom to supply equipment and help build the 4.8 GW Dabaa nuclear plant, the companies said in separate statements (here and here) on Thursday.

In detail: Rosatom’s export arm Atomstroyexport has contracted Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power to supply equipment and materials for the turbines and build some 80 buildings, Rosatom said. The South Korean company was selected as the sole bidder for the contract after signing an early agreement at the beginning of 2022.

Construction began last month: The announcement comes nearly a month after Rosatom — which is handling construction and providing fuel for Dabaa — began construction at the USD 30 bn facility.

The Korean government consulted closely with the US on the agreement with Rosatom and confirmed that the transaction did not breach any sanctions against Moscow, Bloomberg reported South Korean Vice Trade Minister Park Il-joon as saying, citing statements picked up by the country’s news agency, Yonhap. Rosatom has so far not been subjected to Western sanctions that have restricted scores of Russian firms from doing international business. "We experienced many difficulties in the process of negotiating the contract due to unforeseen variables, such as Russia's war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia," a Korean government official said at a presser on the contract, according to Yonhap.

REMEMBER- Construction is expected to take eight years, putting Rosatom on track to get the plant online by the beginning of the next decade. The plant had been set to become operational by 2028-29 but saw delays due to the pandemic.

The news got international ink: Bloomberg | Reuters | AP | CNBC | The Economic Times.

EGAS AND ENI ARE LINING UP A NEW GAS CONCESSION-

In other news from the energy sector: Cabinet gave initial approval to award state-owned EGAS and Italy’s Eni the rights to explore for gas in the Northeast Arish offshore concession, according to a cabinet statement. The companies will need final approval before they start drilling. The move comes as Eni works to ramp up gas imports from Egypt to Italy and the rest of Europe, as the EU scrambles to find alternatives to Russian fossil fuels ahead of a looming winter energy crisis.