Russia Rebuilds Nuclear Workforce at Iran's Bushehr Plant
Key Takeaways
- •Rosatom intends to increase its Russian workforce at the Bushehr site from 25 to around 100 by autumn as work advances on Units 2 and 3.
- •Construction of Bushehr Units 2 and 3 was suspended in March after U.S. and Israeli strikes landed near the nuclear complex, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of Russian personnel.
- •Unit 2 is designed to add 974 MW of net generating capacity, approximately doubling Iran's current nuclear generation output upon completion.
- •Iran targets 20 GW of nuclear capacity by 2040 to address chronic electricity shortages and signed a $25-billion agreement with Russia last year for four additional reactors.
- •Rosatom's chief stated that restoring previous staffing levels requires a finalized U.S.-Iran agreement to end hostilities, which remains unachieved.
Russia is ramping up work on Iran's Bushehr nuclear expansion, according to TASS news agency, with Rosatom planning to increase its Russian workforce at the site from 25 to around 100 by autumn as construction advances on two additional reactors, despite the ongoing conflict and intermittent U.S. strikes on key Iranian infrastructure.
Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said five engineering and technical specialists have recently arrived at Bushehr, with several dozen more due over the next two weeks. The returning personnel are working on the main and auxiliary buildings for Units 2 and 3 and preparing hydraulic engineering facilities.
The deployment expands a return that began in July, when Reuters reported that the first six Rosatom employees were heading back to Bushehr after hundreds of Russian personnel were evacuated during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Twenty Russian specialists remained at the facility through much of the disruption.
Construction of Bushehr Units 2 and 3 was halted in March after U.S. and Israeli strikes began landing close to the nuclear complex. Unit 2 alone is designed to add 974 MW of net generating capacity, roughly doubling Iran's existing nuclear generation capacity when completed, according to the IAEA's reactor database.
Bushehr currently provides Iran with its only operating nuclear reactor, with 915 MW of net capacity. The site's first reactor was originally started by Germany's Kraftwerk Union in the 1970s before being abandoned after the 1979 revolution and later completed by Rosatom, which connected Unit 1 to Iran's grid in 2011 after years of construction delays, contract revisions, and sanctions-related interruptions. Tehran is now pursuing a much larger nuclear buildout as it attempts to ease chronic electricity shortages, targeting 20 GW of nuclear capacity by 2040. Russia and Iran also signed a $25-billion agreement last year covering four additional nuclear units in southeastern Iran, according to Reuters.
Rosatom's buildup remains contingent on the war. Likhachev said a return to previous staffing levels will require a final U.S.-Iran agreement ending hostilities. That remains unresolved: Iran said Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed unless Washington meets a series of demands, even as Tehran and Oman reportedly move closer to an agreement on new shipping lanes through the key oil and LNG chokepoint.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
