PM SAYS JORDAN IS NOW STOCKPILING OIL ON TANKER IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005843 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2012 TAGS: PREL ENRG IZ JO SUBJECT: PM SAYS JORDAN IS NOW STOCKPILING OIL ON TANKER IN AQABA Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, in answer to a question from the Ambassador during an October 5 conversation (septels on other topics),said that Jordan now has a large oil tanker (290,000 metric tons capacity) in the port of Aqaba that it will use to add to its limited strategic reserve of petroleum. He said that Iraq continues to permit Jordan to purchase larger amounts of crude than usual, and that the GOJ has 70,000 metric tons of crude already in Aqaba and ready to be loaded into the tanker. Abul Ragheb commented that, when fully loaded, the total storage in Jordan would provide "up to two months" of consumption, depending on the refined product most in demand. He said, however, that if a strike on Iraq (and cut off of oil deliveries from Iraq) came during a cold January or February, the oil reserves might account for much less, perhaps only two-three weeks of heating oil in particular. GNEHM