GOJ SAYS KUWAITI AND EMIRATI CASH GRANTS ALREADY

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 000009 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2015 TAGS: PREL EAID EPET EFIN ENRG JO SUBJECT: GOJ SAYS KUWAITI AND EMIRATI CASH GRANTS ALREADY EXPIRED; SAUDI CRUDE GRANT WILL EXPIRE APRIL 2005 AS REPORTED REF: 2004 STATE 275413 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for reason 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Finance Minister Abu Hammour, in a January 3 conversation, reconfirmed to Charge that Jordan's arrangement to receive 50,000 barrels per day in crude from Saudi Arabia is currently scheduled to conclude at the end of April 2005. Abu Hammour also confirmed that the Kuwaiti and Emirati pledges had expired. (NOTE: The Kuwaiti cash pledge was for one year, beginning in March 2003, and the Emirati cash pledge was for nine months, beginning in March 2003.) The GOJ has therefore requested U.S. assistance in interceding with Saudi Arabia to extend its grant of crude oil. The USG intercession with the governments of Kuwait and the UAE, on the other hand, would aim at prompting these governments to make new pledges of assistance to Jordan. ¶2. (C) According to Finance Ministry figures received on December 30, Jordan received JD 49.6 million ($70 million) from the UAE in cash during 2003 - post estimates this figure would be close to full payment of the UAE's pledge of the cash equivalent of nine months of crude at 25,000 bpd. Also according to these figures, Kuwait paid to the GOJ cash in the amount of JD 60.3 million ($85 million) in 2004. This contribution, in addition to the Kuwaitis' JD 18.5 million ($26 million) to Jordan in 2003, would be roughly equivalent to full payment of its pledge of 25,000 bpd for one year. HALE