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Natura Resources Announces Agreement with NGL Energy Partners to Develop 100-MW SMRs with Large-Scale Produced Water Treatment in the Permian Basin

LCG, February 4, 2026--Natura Resources LLC (Natura), a developer of advanced molten-salt nuclear reactors, announced yesterday that it has signed an agreement with NGL Water Solutions Permian LLC, a subsidiary of NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL), to pursue opportunities to combine Natura's advanced nuclear reactor technology with thermal desalination for power production and oil and gas produced water treatment. NGL transports, treats, recycles and disposes of more than 3 million barrels per day of produced and flowback water generated from crude oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin.

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OPG Completes Darlington Nuclear Station Refurbishment Project Under Budget and Ahead of Schedule

LCG, February 2, 2026--Ontario Power Generation (OPG) announced today that construction on the four-unit Darlington Refurbishment project is now complete. Station staff are completing final testing, and the last unit is expected to return to service in the coming weeks. OPG stated that the overall project is currently four months ahead of schedule and $150 million under budget.

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Industry News

Extraction from Canadian Oilsands to Require Much More Energy

LCG, Jan. 29, 2003--In order to increase the amount of oil extracted from oilsands in northern Alberta, experts expect that a significant amount of steam will be required, but where the energy to produce the steam will come from is still being investigated.

Suggestions that nuclear power could be used were raised in the 1970's, then dropped as it appeared too costly an option. If oilsands account for a large part of future growth in Canadian oil production as expected, however, it could theoretically require all of Alberta's gas output. This is based on production of four million barrels per day in 2025, said Bob Taylor, an assistant deputy minister with Alberta Energy, part of the provincial government. In order to extract the bitumen in sands 75 meters underground and make it into synthetic oil, energy equivalent to a third of the amount obtained is currently needed.

A developer of nuclear plants, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., has commissioned a study by the independent Canadian Energy Research Institute to investigate the cost-competitiveness of a small-scale nuclear power plant. While the last nuclear plant to be brought into operation in Canada came online in 1993, it was $11.6 billion overbudget. ($11 billion was invested in oilsands projects during 2001 and 2002.) Natural gas prices have been quite volatile recently, however, and gas is a source of greenhouse emissions, unlike nuclear power.

According to Bob Dunbar, a senior director with the Canadian Energy Research Institute, his company's study shows so far that "nuclear would be an economically competitive option with gas." The study will be finalized next month.
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