WORLD NEWS MARCH 28, 2019 / 3:49 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO

U.S. energy secretary unsure if Saudi nuclear approvals came after Khashoggi killing

Timothy Gardner
4 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry told lawmakers on Thursday he did not know whether any of the approvals he authorized for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia were made after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October last year.

Perry told a Senate hearing he approved some authorizations by U.S. companies to sell preliminary nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia since November 2017, confirming media reports by the Daily Beast and Reuters on Wednesday.

The Department of Energy issued a statement later on Thursday clarifying that it had issued seven such approvals for companies wishing to participate in Saudi Arabia’s civilian nuclear power program, but pointed out that they do not permit the transfer of “nuclear material, equipment or components.”

U.S. companies commonly win such approvals, known as Part 810 authorizations, for selling nuclear power know-how abroad and the documents are often kept for the public to access in a room at Energy Department headquarters.

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