This market is very volatile and dependent on customer needs. Its segments, such as maintenance and repairs, retrofit, life extension, supplies, operational support and nuclear infrastructure, measure around 1 billion US dollars per annum combined, and this is only the market of VVER-based nuclear plants abroad.
In 2016 alone, Rusatom Service’s revenue from foreign contracts grew 33% year-on-year to reach 71 million US dollars. Today the total contract portfolio exceeds 460 million US dollars. The company delivers different complexity projects in Armenia, Iran, Bulgaria, China, Hungary and Slovakia.
Rusatom Service offers a unique comprehensive solution for modernization and lifetime extension of foreign VVER-based nuclear power plants in line with the client’s needs and specific features of each particular power unit. It is also possible to arrange packaged supply of imported equipment and spare parts, including warranty and post warranty service maintenance. The Rusatom Service offers a full service package on the initial, continued, advanced and on-job training for foreign nuclear staff by leading Rosatom associated E&T suppliers.
Life extension projects are an important area of Rosatom’s activities. One of such projects is life extension of the Armenian nuclear power plant. The service contract was signed in June 2015 for a total price of 300 million US dollars. The plant’s life is to be extended for 10 years. Since the supply contracts have been signed for almost all components with long lead times, the plant equipment retrofit can start already in 2018.
Another project, which is worth mentioning, is life extension of Units 5 and 6 at Kozloduy in Bulgaria. It is vital for the country since this NPP generates 33% of power consumed in the country. It makes country’s economy competitive and supplies power to consumers at affordable rates. In September 2014, Rosatom signed a contract for a feasibility study to extend the service life of Kozloduy Unit 5 up to 60 years. The contract was to be performed within a fantastic period of only 27 months. A similar procedure in Russia would have required far more time, but the project in Bulgaria was successfully implemented despite a very short time period.
“The work was done by a tightly-knit international team of experts from 16 EU-based organizations. Efficient and flexible project management, proactive approach to problem solving, result-driven attitude and openness to dialog produced a synergistic effect that helped Rusatom Service deliver the project two times faster than it was scheduled (2 years vs. 4–5 years). Once the project was completed, we received a positive feedback from the customer, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Energy, and our French partners Electricite de France and Assystem. At present, we are doing a similar job at Unit 6 under the contract signed on 28 January 2016,” says Evgeny Salkov, CEO of Rusatom Service.
Another type of projects is preventive maintenance. These projects comprise a set of organizational and technical measures taken regularly at every power unit of any nuclear power plant to test equipment conditions and prevent failures. Preventive maintenance is aimed at identifying worn-out parts and components and keeping them functioning. Much work of this kind is done at Bushehr NPP in Iran. Earlier this year Rusatom Service performed a four-year contract, having completed the third preventive maintenance program. Now the company is drafting a direct contract for spare part supplies, maintenance and repair, and staff training at Bushehr.
RUSATOM SERVICE TODAY:
$460M – TOTAL CONTRACTS AS AT 2017
Leading provider of maintenance services in Iran, Bulgaria, Armenia and China
