"A nuclear power generation project requires more than a decade for construction and involves operations for more than 60 years. South Korea is a reliable partner in terms of economic feasibility, safety, and ensuring the construction period," Lee said.

Brent climbed $1.9, or 1.7%, to $116.99, WTI rose $1.8, or 1.6%, to $111.36 a barrel.

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $112.35 a barrel

The European Commission will next month present a plan for EU countries to coordinate their preparations for further gas shocks, as Russia has already cut or reduced supplies to 12 of the bloc's 27 member states.

The EU’s gas supply situation could worsen if Russia halts gas flows to the region in the coming weeks, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said Monday.

In 2020, the EU sourced 19% of its gas imports from Norway, compared to 39% from Russia.

Under the JCPOA between Iran the P5+1 group of countries (the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany) Iran agreed to limit its nuclear development in return for the lifting of sanctions.

South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, said on 22 June that in order to rebuild the nuclear industry that was “devastated by the previous administration”, the government will allocate KRW92.5 billion ($70 million) from the energy budget for the restoration of nuclear power generation capacity.

Romanian company Nuclearelectrica and NuScale will cooperate with the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on a series of engineering and design activities and studies, as well further technical analyses of the Doicești site, a former thermal power plant site which has been identified as a potential location for the SMR plant.

US Energy Information Administration reports a capacity factor of 25% for solar generation.