Global nuclear majors target China

Amec, the British oil and gas engineering firm which acquired Swiss-based rival Foster Wheeler at the end of last year, meanwhile, has signed a memorandum of understanding with CNNC to pursue new building opportunities as well as possible contracts involving nuclear power plant operational support, lifetime extension, decommissioning and waste management.

Roberto Penno, Amec Foster Wheeler's group president for Asia, Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe, told China Daily earlier this month that China is one of the company's fastest-growing markets and it considers its partnership with CNNC as very much long term.

"The move is only the first step in our strategy of building a bigger presence here in the nuclear field; we want to cooperate with more local companies using our expertise in the global market," said Penno, who is former chief executive officer of Foster Wheeler's Global E&C Group.

He said the British company is also providing training to the China Institute of Atomic Energy and CNNC, and is assisting the latter in developing its capability in non-destructive testing of materials.

Though many terms still need to be discussed and finalized, he said, he expects strong levels of future participation by the UK company, in a Chinese nuclear market which is likely to be worth billions of dollars for many other international companies too.