US agrees to help Saudi Arabia develop civilian nuclear program

US agrees to help Saudi Arabia develop civilian nuclear program
By ASSOCIATED PRESS


President George W. Bush and King Abdullah formalized new cooperation on Friday between the kingdom and the United States on a range of topics, including the development of civilian nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia and US protection of Saudi oil fields.

The agreements came as Saudi Arabian leaders made clear that they saw no reason to increase oil production until their customers demanded it, apparently rebuffing a request made by the president directly to the king in an effort to stay the soaring US gasoline prices.

During Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, Saudi officials stuck to their position that they are already meeting demand, the president's national security adviser told reporters.

"What they're saying to us is ... Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy," Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices topped $127 a barrel, a record high.

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:sarcasm:

In which case, pumping more oil (let's forget the 'peak oil' argument for now) wouldn't do much good. No place to refine it.

Now another oil rich nation wants nuclear power for actually the same reason?