French multinational energy company Orano and Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) signed a support services agreement covering the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP) and the MOX Fabrication Plant (J-MOX) in Japan, Orano said Wednesday.
The companies signed two contracts within this new framework for the support of J-MOX, which is currently under construction at the Rokkasho-Mura site, in northern Japan, a press release said.
In accordance with the first contract, 20 experts from Orano Melox Recycling Plant, and Orano Projets, the Orano group's engineering subsidiary, will provide until April 2019 a technical review for J-MOX key equipment, focused on maintainability, operation and product quality.
The second contract will see Melox experts 'deliver their experience feedback of maintenance on some Melox equipment, similar to those planned for J-MOX'.
'Other contracts will follow to accompany the different steps of J-MOX building in order to support JNFL for the start-up phase and to improve its expected operational performance,' the statement added.
Pascal Aubret, executive vice president of Recycling Business Unit at Orano Group, said the support services agreement and the attached contracts 'confirm a long-term global strategic partnership in the fuel nuclear cycle' between the two companies.
'In the coming years, Orano and JNFL will also resume the training of Japanese specialists in France,' Aubret added.
By Huseyin Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr