SAUDIS TELL KING ABDULLAH THEY WILL JOIN OIL DEAL;

S E C R E T AMMAN 000861

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2013
TAGS: PREL EPET MARR IZ EAID SA KU JO UA
SUBJECT: SAUDIS TELL KING ABDULLAH THEY WILL JOIN OIL DEAL;
JORDAN WILL ASK FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR IRAQ HUMANITARIAN
RELIEF COSTS

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D)

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CP ABDULLAH MAKES FUZZY COMMITMENT TO SUPPLY OIL TO JORDAN
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1. (S) King Abdullah told the Ambassador and PolCouns
February 5 that Saudi CP Abdullah confirmed to him during his
February 4 visit to Saudi Arabia that the Saudis are prepared
to provide Jordan with oil in the event of a cutoff in
supplies from Iraq. The King said the oil would come through
Yanbo, and that the Saudis were "seeking an increased
commitment from Kuwait and the UAE" on the oil deal. CP
Abdullah told the King he wants to see "50 - 50, plus 50 from
Saudi Arabia" (presumably meaning provision of 50,000 bpd to
Jordan from each of the three countries). The King
commented, however, that there was "no practical conversation
about the details" of the possible oil deliveries on either
price or specific delivery mechanism. In a separate
conversation February 6, Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb told
the Ambassador that Saudi Oil Minister Naimi told him that
Jordan could send a ship to Yanbo and get Saudi oil "on 24
hours notice." Abul Ragheb understood from the Saudis that
such an arrangement would last for three months "assuming
that oil shipments from Iraq will come back." "I know that I
am now getting my oil," he concluded.


2. (S) In a separate conversation with Ambassador and
PolCouns February 5, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher repeated
the substance of the King's remarks. Based on the
Jordanians' conversations with the CP, Muasher said, "things
seem to be going well" with the Saudis on oil. "The Crown
Prince told us 'we will cover your needs,' but no one has yet
given us the terms. We think they will be favorable, but we
don't know the final quantities or the price." He noted that
Jordanian Energy Minister Mohammad Bataineh had recently met
with the Saudi, UAE, and Kuwaiti oil ministers in Abu Dhabi,
"and the UAE Minister didn't even know about the deal."
Muasher said he had called UAE MinState for Foreign Affairs
Prince Hamdan later to confirm that the deal was still on the
table, and Hamdan said he would make sure his oil minister
was brought into the loop.


3. (S) PM Abul Ragheb said that he was also looking at the
possibility that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (or Saudi Arabia
alone) could supply all of Jordan's oil needs, and that the
UAE (or the UAE and Kuwait) would make a monetary
contribution in lieu of actual petroleum. Abul Ragheb said
he would go to Abu Dhabi and Kuwait after the Eid to try to
work out details of such an arrangement (although he also
said during another part of the conversation that GID
Director Saad Kheir was in charge of this deal).

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IRAQ RELIEF EFFORTS: "WE NEED TO GET BACK EVERY PENNY"
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4. (C) Ambassador and PolCouns briefed the King and Muasher
on the visit of the PRM/OFDA Humanitarian Planning Team,
emphasizing the team's desire to work out mechanisms to
increase coordination between the Jordanian Armed Forces
(JAF),the U.S. military, UN agencies, and NGOs in the event
of war. Muasher and the King welcomed the news of a USD 15m
grant to UN agencies and hoped this would permit UNHCR to
reimburse some of the GOJ's costs associated with possible
flows of refugees and/or third country nationals into and
through Jordan. Noting that Jordan got almost no
international assistance to cover its refugee/TCN costs
during the 1990-91 Gulf War, Muasher quipped "We need to get
back every penny we spend. If UNHCR can pay, fine. If they
don't pay, we will ask you (the USG)."

GNEHM
GNEHM