The head of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani said Saudi Arabia plans to domestically extract uranium to produce atomic fuel for its nuclear power program, Reuters reported Oct. 30. Yamani did not disclose whether Saudi Arabia would seek to enrich and reprocess uranium. The decision is a step toward diversifying Saudi Arabia's energy supply and reduce oil dependency . The country will award a construction contract for its first two nuclear reactors by the end of 2018.