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