HtTps://www.energyintel.com/00000188-4eb4-ddc5-ab9e-eff65a5b0000

No matter the origin of the deal, it's now clear that Rosatom will play an outsized role in the world's largest uranium producer, even as it is slowly cut off from supplying fuel to nuclear operators in Europe and the US. Indeed, Rosatom's pro rata equity offtake from Budenovskoye-6 and -7 will likely by itself surpass domestic Russian uranium output, raising the question of what Rosatom will do with all this material. One obvious answer would be to sell it to the Chinese, although it's not clear to what extent Moscow has any interest in selling on yellowcake — as opposed to low-enriched uranium or fuel assemblies.

For the Chinese part, the CNNC Overseas deal with Kazatomprom will surely make a dent in Chinese uranium demand going forward, given the scale hinted at by Kazatomprom's filings on the subject. During Tokayev's visit last week to the Chinese city of Xi'an, for a Central Asian summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, a May 17 joint statement from the two leaders only mentioned uranium in passing, in a pledge to "continue to deepen cooperation in the fields of oil, natural gas and natural uranium.