The IAEA, which monitors NPT members, will assess Brazil's requirement for nuclear power generation for the submarine.

On June 7, the PetroNotícias portal announced that Brazil had begun to dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the permission to use atomic fuel for the functioning of the submarine powered by nuclear energy, a pioneer in the country. The construction of the submarine will be carried out in Itaguaí, a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, on the outskirts of Marinha and NUCLEP.

The other submarines belonging to the Riachuelo Class, which use diesel oil as fuel, are already being developed. Of these, there are two ready-made models, Riachuelo and Humaitá, and two that remain in the construction process, Tonelero and Angostura.

Submarines that use nuclear energy as fuel they can remain submerged in the sea for a much longer period than ordinary submarines and, in addition, they correspond to a specific risk of proliferation, taking into account that they work far from the monitoring capacity of the IAEA inspectors.

Apart from the P5, will Brazil be the first member of the NPT to use a nuclear submarine?

To date, no country involved in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – such as Brazil itself – has come into possession of a submarine that uses nuclear energy, with the exception of the five permanent members (P5) of the United Nations Security Council. (UN). Also identified as nuclear weapons states, the P5 consists of: United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.

Last year, there was a similar movement between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia – the so-called Aukus – in order to get nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, since, like Brazil, it also does not have any type of weapon. nuclear. 

The only nation outside the P5 that has a nuclear-powered submarine is India. However, it is not a signatory to the NPT, so it is not subject to general IAEA inspections and monitoring.

On the country's request for the use of nuclear power

Rafael Grossi, head of the UN agency, is already aware of Brazilian requests regarding the use of nuclear energy for the atomic submarine. The country intends to produce a nuclear-powered submarine under a partnership with Naval Group, France's defense company. The name chosen for the nuclear submarine was SN Álvaro Alberto (SN-BR).

In this regard, Rafael Grossi stated, in a statement to a meeting held every three months by the IAEA Board of Governors, that it is important that a formal dialogue be established between Brazil and the Agency. “Another important development is related to the formal communication from Brazil to initiate discussions with the Secretariat of the (IAEA) on an arrangement of Special Procedures for the use of nuclear material under safeguards in nuclear propulsion and in the operation of submarines and prototypes”, said the chief .

Finally, Grossi added: “More meetings are scheduled for the coming months and I intend to present a report to the September Council. I would like to express my satisfaction with the engagement and transparency demonstrated by the three countries so far.”

After agreement, OneSubsea's submarine will be installed in the Atlanta field, Enauta's main oil exploration site

The first week of March was one of innovation and novelty for OneSubsea, which has just signed a contract with Enauta. The agreement involves the development of the final production system in the Atlanta field, Enauta's main oil production asset, located in the Santos Basin, and also includes an intense subsea operation, with planning that includes subsea processing systems, production of submarines and Christmas trees.

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