Gulf News reported that Saudi Arabia, holder of one fifth of global oil reserves aims to build 16 nuclear reactors by 2030 as the nation seeks to cut the amount of crude it burns in generators to meet rising power demand.

Mr Ebrahim Babelli consultant with the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy said that the nuclear plants and solar generation are parts of a plan to diversify energy sources away from crude. The agency, known as KA CARE is in charge of developing alternative and renewable energy sources.

Mr Babelli said that Arabian Gulf oil producers are seeking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for power generation to maximize exports of valuable crude and allocate natural gas to petrochemicals production. Growing Saudi oil consumption may lead to less and less being available for export.

Mr Abdul Gani Melaibari KA CARES's coordinator for scientific collaboration and a professor of nuclear engineering said that Saudi Arabia may spend more than USD 100 billion building nuclear plants over the next two decades.

(Sourced from gulfnews.com)