US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the accord in Washington on Wednesday. The agreement, known as a Section 123 pact under US law, establishes the legal framework required for American companies to transfer nuclear technology, equipment and material to Saudi Arabia.
The 30-year arrangement is expected to support the construction of nuclear power reactors worth tens of billions of dollars. Westinghouse, the US-based reactor developer owned by Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management, is positioned to compete for contracts involving its AP1000 reactor design.
A separate bilateral safeguards agreement was signed alongside the nuclear pact. US officials said the framework would maintain high standards of safety, security and non-proliferation, although full details of the safeguards have not been publicly released.
The most consequential element is a provision that creates a possible route towards uranium enrichment inside Saudi Arabia. A joint US-Saudi study, expected to take about two years, will assess whether domestic enrichment is technically and economically justified.
Should the study support the proposal, American companies could build and operate an enrichment facility under a tightly controlled “black box” model. Such an arrangement would seek to prevent Saudi personnel from gaining access to sensitive centrifuge designs, operating data or other technology that could be diverted towards weapons development.
Uranium enrichment increases the concentration of the fissile isotope uranium-235. Low-enriched uranium is used as fuel for civilian reactors, but the same technology can produce highly enriched material suitable for nuclear weapons if enrichment levels are raised substantially.
The pact does not adopt the so-called gold standard used in the US nuclear agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Under that arrangement, Abu Dhabi renounced domestic uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.
Saudi Arabia has resisted making a comparable commitment, arguing that it should be allowed to develop a complete civilian nuclear fuel cycle using domestic uranium deposits. Prince Abdulaziz has repeatedly stated that the kingdom intends to explore and process its uranium resources for peaceful energy production.
Riyadh has also said it would seek a nuclear weapon if Iran acquired one, a position that has heightened scrutiny of any agreement permitting enrichment capability. The risk has become more sensitive amid continuing regional conflict and international efforts to restrict Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Non-proliferation specialists and several US lawmakers have questioned whether bilateral monitoring can substitute for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Additional Protocol. The protocol grants inspectors wider access to locations, information and activities that may not involve declared nuclear material.
Saudi Arabia is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA. It ended its Small Quantities Protocol at the close of 2024, strengthening inspection requirements as its nuclear ambitions advanced. The kingdom has not, however, brought the Additional Protocol into force.
The agreement must now undergo congressional review. Lawmakers will have about 90 days of continuous session to examine the pact and introduce a joint resolution of disapproval. Blocking it would be difficult because any presidential veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override.
Opponents are expected to focus on enrichment rights, inspection standards and the possibility that Saudi capabilities could encourage other regional powers to pursue sensitive fuel-cycle technology. Supporters argue that rejecting the agreement could push Riyadh towards nuclear suppliers from China, Russia or South Korea, leaving Washington with less influence over safety and safeguards.
The deal also gives US companies greater access to Saudi Arabia’s emerging nuclear market. Riyadh plans to build large reactors, small modular reactors and fuel-cycle facilities as part of an energy strategy aimed at reducing domestic oil consumption, expanding electricity supplies and supporting desalination.
Nuclear generation would allow Saudi Arabia to reserve more crude oil and natural gas for export or industrial use. Electricity demand is rising as the kingdom develops new cities, data centres, manufacturing projects and tourism infrastructure under its Vision 2030 economic programme.
Saudi Arabia began seeking bids for two large reactors several years ago, with vendors from the United States, China, Russia, France and South Korea showing interest. The US agreement strengthens Westinghouse’s position but does not guarantee a reactor order.
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