RIYADH/PARIS: Toshiba-owned Westinghouse is in talks with other U.S-based companies to form a consortium to bid in a multi-billion-dollar tender for two nuclear power reactors in Saudi Arabia, three industry sources said. Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer, sent a request for information (RFI) to reactor builders worldwide last month in a first step towards opening a formal tender, Reuters has reported. A nuclear newcomer, it wants to use atomic power to generate electricity at home so it can export more crude. Taking part in the tender would be a major step for reactor builder Westinghouse after it went into chapter 11 bankruptcy this year. US utilities also abandoned two half-finished Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at V.C. Summer in the United States. Toshiba, which is looking for a buyer for Westinghouse, also dropped plans to build Westinghouse reactors in Britain and India. If other companies join US-based Westinghouse in a consortium it would show that they still believe the AP1000 is a viable competitor to French, Russian, South Korean and Chinese reactor models. Russian and South Korean companies have already said they plan to bid in a deal seen as one of the most promising prospects for the global nuclear industry, which is struggling to find contracts following Japan’s Fukushima disaster in 2011. A bid would also show that the United States remains a player in the small club of nuclear reactor builders in an industry which has important geopolitical and security implications. One industry source familiar with discussions said Westinghouse and US utility holding company Exelon were discussing forming a consortium that could also include other US companies such as industrial contractor Bechtel Corp. “They are creating a team that could address all the requirements,” the source said, referring to technology, security, construction, fuel and reprocessing. A second industry source said Westinghouse and Bechtel were working together. A third source with knowledge of the bidding process said Westinghouse is working on a bid for the tender and definitely hopes to take part but declined to comment on the consortium members. Spokespeople for Westinghouse and Exelon did not immediately respond to a request for comment and declined to comment for Bechtel. A fourth industry source in contact with both the Saudi and US sides said there would be a bid by multiple US companies, without naming them. Published in Daily Times, November 22nd 2017.