HONDURAS: CONOCOPHILLIPS FUEL BID MAY BE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 002309 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/ESC, WHA/EPSC, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN STATE FOR D, E, P, AND WHA TREASURY FOR AFAIBISHENKO STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAM STATE PASS USTR NSC FOR DAN FISK E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2016 TAGS: ENRG EPET HO PGOV PINR PREL SUBJECT: HONDURAS: CONOCOPHILLIPS FUEL BID MAY BE IN JEOPARDY REF: TEGUCIGALPA 2265 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: AMB Charles Ford for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1.(C) Summary: While only two weeks have passed since U.S. fuel company ConocoPhillips was selected to supply all of Honduras, requirements for premium gasoline, regular gasoline, and diesel fuel, doubts on how to proceed are beginning to surface. The math does not support the potential savings announced by the GOH, and aspects of the winning bid may not even be workable. With ConocoPhillips representatives arrival on December 11 and the GOH continuing to negotiate with existing importers, it now appears at least possible that the GOH could abandon its fuel importation scheme altogether, in favor of a more measured approach. End Summary. -------------- A CHANGE IN STRATEGY MAY BE IN THE WORKS -------------- ¶2. (C) On November 29, Honduran President Jose Manuel &Mel8 Zelaya identified U.S. fuel company ConocoPhillips as the winner to supply an estimated 8 million barrels of premium, regular and diesel fuel (reftels). In the course of the announcement, Zelaya justified the winning bid by identifying over USD 50 million per year in total savings. Not coincidentally, the contract of the U.S. consultant managing the bid stipulated that he would receive a bonus of USD 1.25 million if savings of over USD 46 million were found. The U.S. consultant,s firm, SurOil, developed the terms of reference and provided the final analysis of all the bids to the GOH reviewing committee. ¶3. (C) Immediately following the announcement, the existing importers of fuel began to question how the savings of USD 50 million were calculated. While ConocoPhillips took advantage of a surplus of high sulfur fuel to come in 6 U.S. cents per gallon less then the current reference price, the reported savings of 25 U.S. cents per gallon was impossible to derive. Several importers told EconOff that the books were cooked by eliminating at least seven cost items from the calculation to inflate the savings figure. Moreover, certain aspects of the ConocoPhillips offer appear not to work at all: several sources confirm that the size of the tanker specified in the winning bid would be too large to off-load in Honduras, key northern port of Puerto Cortes. ¶4. (C) Despite awarding the bid to ConocoPhillips, President Zelaya reportedly is now considering declaring the entire process void and instead modifying the existing import pricing formula and putting Honduras on the path towards a more liberalized fuels market. Zelaya recently dispatched confidant Arturo Corrales to negotiate with the existing importers on adjusting the reference price, or import price specified in the formula used to set margins throughout the fuel supply chain. EconOff spoke with Corrales on December 11, and he confirmed that he was attempting to get the current importers (who would be replaced by ConocoPhillips if the current process continues to a conclusion) to match the real cost savings he indicated that ConocoPhillips brought to the table ) about 6 U.S. cents. When asked where that put ConocoPhillips, Corrales replied that their offer contained many conditions, and that &the contract wasn,t signed yet.8 In a brief telcon with EconOff on December 12, however, Corrales appeared more hesitant, apparently in light of the recent arrival of ConocoPhillips representatives and ensuing press coverage. He indicated that he &needed to talk with the President8 about whether he should precede to negotiate with the importers. -------------- CONOCOPHILLIPS: WE UNDERSTAND THE RISKS -------------- TEGUCIGALP 00002309 002 OF 004 ¶5. (C) EconOffs invited the ConocoPhillips representatives to Post December 12, and laid out the history of the fuel bid during a two hour discussion. Stating repeatedly that they fully understood the risks and that any contract would be signed only after a thorough due diligence, the team made it clear that their responsibility would be to deliver the fuel only to the off-load flange (just before the storage tanks) and the ensuing down-stream details and negotiations were purely up to the GOH. On the subject of storage, the reps indicated that the GOH has a concession agreement with Honduran retailer DIPPSA that allows them to use their facilities at cost. (Comment: EconOff spoke the same day with DIPPSA President Henry Arevalo who indicated that his offered price for storage is 5 U.S. cents per gallon, versus the GOH offered price of 3 cents. Per Arevalo, several other &cost8 items must be included in the price. End Comment). ¶6. (C) The reps also seemed convinced that between DIPPSA and Honduran fuel company HonduPetrol the GOH could store the estimated 10 days worth of premium, regular and diesel fuel that ConocoPhillips was required to deliver, though just barely. The team indicated that business magnate Freddy Nasser,s HonduPetrol, principally a tank farm in the northern port of Puerto Cortes and designed more for storage and distribution of fuel oil to thermal plants, could be modified to store more diesel, and DIPPSA expanded to include more premium and regular fuel storage. (Comment: While Post agrees that the planned supply and potential storage figures may conceivably work ) with little headroom ) the plan would hit serious bottlenecks in off-loading capacity and limited space for &rack8 loading to tanker trucks. Additionally, DIPPSA,s terminal location is off a poorly constructed road that is subject to washouts, traffic blockages, and has been an area of increased truck assaults and robberies. Bottom line: Post doubts that the GOH could make this scenario work without Texaco,s modern, 800 thousand barrel storage and terminal facilities. End Comment). EconOffs strongly recommended that the reps visit the facilities themselves during the course of their due diligence. They undertook to have a technical team do so. ¶7. (C) As EconOffs briefed the ConocoPhillips reps on the fuel situation, it became apparent that they knew little about the year-long process that developed the bid. Safe in the assumption that their liability ended with the off-loading of fuel, the reps had paid little attention to the plight of the current importers that includes canceling long term supply contracts, stranding investment, and potential expropriation. While admitting that they had been contacted by Exxon (Note: Exxon owns 50 percent of a southern tank farm with DIPPSA. End Note),they had made no initiative to contact Texaco or learn more about their point of view. Per the reps, that was the responsibility of the GOH. ¶8. (C) When asked about how the GOH planned to finance the transaction, they vaguely responded that favorable downstream credit terms would free enough money up on an on-going basis, and the GOH would have to put up as little as USD 20 million to get the process going. (Comment: Treasury Secretary Rebecca Santos has stated that no money is available to front the bid process. End Comment). Disturbingly, when asked what would happen if the GOH tried to renegotiate prices in the face of potential fuel price spikes, the rep in charge of credit stated emphatically &we just won,t deliver the shipment.8 (Comment: The GOH has previously resorted to freezing fuel prices after a few hundred taxis demonstrated against justifiable price hikes. In that case, the current importers ) with significant investment in-country ) acquiesced, and are still owed approximately USD 10 million. As the GOH puts all of their strategic fuel imports into one company,s hands ) a U.S. company that has little investment in Honduras ) they may lose what little control they have TEGUCIGALP 00002309 003 OF 004 over fuel prices, and may set the U.S. up as a scapegoat if ConocoPhillips pulls out under pressure. End Comment.) -------------- KEY BID PROPONENTS ISOLATED -------------- ¶9. (C) While the GOH appears to be seriously considering backtracking on the bid results, two of the major proponents of the bid are preoccupied by their own futures. The U.S. citizen consultant is under intensified attack regarding a 16 year-old derelict fuel barge abandoned in the northern port of Trujillo still loaded with its cargo of asphalt. The consultant apparently negotiated the shipment into Honduras years ago; how and why it was abandoned remains unclear. The topic had been in and out of the news ever since the consultant,s contract was announced in late 2005, but in the days following the November 2006 bid award the ship mysteriously began to sink, spilling toxic asphalt into the bay. The prosecutor in charge of environmental issues has started to mention legal proceedings against the consultant. (Comment: The consultant,s contract included a USD 750 thousand base pay with the USD 1.2 million bonus if the savings target were met. If the GOH changes their position on the savings, his bonus may be lost and it would not surprise us if fines for environmental damages ended up in the neighborhood of USD 750 thousand. End Comment). ¶10. (C) While the consultant may end up as the fall-guy, social activist Juliette Handal seems to be off in a different direction. Handal is generally considered one of the key forces behind the bid process; as a member of the original commission of notables, she managed to get the U.S. consultant (and personal friend) hired. Many are talking about Handal as a leading candidate for Minister of Commerce, replacing Lizzy Azcona when she (along with the rest of the Cabinet) ritually submits her resignation on December 29. (Comment: Handal served previously as a SIC minister, under former President Maduro, but only for about 60 days. Despite the short tenure, she has many contacts at SIC and would most likely be ecstatic over the appointment. Given Post's deeply unsatisfactory interactions with Handal in the oil bid solicitation process, Post considers that her appointment as Minister of Trade and Commerce would be a disaster for Honduras as it tries to take advantage of CAFTA and to learn to compete in the global marketplace. End Comment). ¶11. (C) Finally, in the midst of a potential crumbling of the ConocoPhillips part of the tender, the bid from the only other winner, Gas Del Caribe, may also be in jeopardy. While their offer beat the nearest competitor by just over 60 U.S. cents per 25 pound cylinder of LPG natural gas, the offer apparently relied on their controversial tank farm recently installed in the port city of Omoa for their storage. The never-used tank farm has come under fire as a potential environmental hazard, and a Congressional committee has recommended that the storage tanks be moved to another location. Without this million-barrel equivalent storage capacity already installed, Gas Del Caribe would not be able to meet their published prices. (Comment: If Gas Del Caribe is eliminated, the GOH would be forced to move to the second place firm, GeoGas from Switzerland. More importantly, another USD 10 million in announced savings would evaporate, almost certainly leaving the U.S. consultant below the required savings for his bonus even with a ConocoPhillips win. End Comment). ¶12. (C) COMMENT. Corrales, pitch to the importers is very similar to what he proposed in Miami just before the bid was awarded. There he had outlined a free market plan in exchange for reduced import prices, and gained agreement on almost all points. Why Zelaya then went ahead and awarded the bid to ConocoPhillips is still unclear. Perhaps he received assurances from the U.S. consultant that the savings TEGUCIGALP 00002309 004 OF 004 added up, and felt the selection of a U.S. company would neutralize Post,s influence, reduce prices significantly at the pump, and show the people he could take on the multinationals and win. As the savings evaporate under scrutiny and he potentially backtracks on the bid, he may now be moving to identify the U.S. consultant as the fall guy while moving Handal up and out as a troublemaker. Post will continue discussions with representatives of the ConocoPhillips team as they undertake their due diligence. END SUMMARY. FORD