DISCUSSION OF ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 000339 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/ESC/IEC, NEA/ARP, S/CT, PM/PPA; DOE FOR WILLIAMSON E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2017 TAGS: EPET ENRG EINV PINV SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY, CHEVRON ADVOCACY WITH NEW OIL UNDERSECRETARY REF: A. KUWAIT 317 ¶B. KUWAIT 163 Classified By: Economic Counselor Tim Lenderking for reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) On 7 March, Econcouns and Econoff met with new Under Secretary of Energy for Oil Abbas Ali Naqi, appointed in December 2006. Econcouns congratulated Naqi on his appointment and asked how the Ministry was being affected by the 4 March resignation of the Kuwaiti Cabinet (Ref A). Naqi said that the Energy Minister was continuing to perform his duties as a member of the caretaker government until a new government is formed. He said he did not know whether the Minister would stay or go, but he hoped the Minister would remain to implement what Naqi considered to be a clear and forward-looking vision for Kuwait's energy sector. He did not expect the Ministry to be disrupted by the reshuffle. Naqi said he hoped that Project Kuwait, the $8.5 billion proposal to invite international oil companies to participate in the development of Kuwait's northern oil fields, would be implemented soon. He said, however, that for the Project to be approved by the Parliament it would have to take some form other than that of a traditional production sharing agreement. ¶2. (C/NF) Econcouns asked Naqi if he was aware of Secretary Bodman's January letter to the Energy Minister supporting Chevron's position that Kuwaiti plans to build a refinery in Mina Al-Zour could adversely affect the operations of Chevron subsidiary Saudi Arabian Texaco in the divided neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (Ref B). Naqi said he was unaware of the letter but would investigate whether the Minister was preparing a response. Naqi did not believe that any further discussions had taken place between the GOK and the KSA regarding the proposed refinery site. He confirmed that the refinery project was being re-tendered in the hope of attracting lower bids than those received in the first round of tendering. ¶3. (C/NF) Econoff briefed Naqi on the program for a DOE-DHS-DS Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection visit to Kuwait planned for 13-21 March. Naqi was supportive of the visit and said he was pleased to hear that the program was being coordinated across the various Kuwaiti agencies involved in oil infrastructure security. He noted that he had drafted a letter to the Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) requesting full support and cooperation with the visit. ¶4. (U) Bio Note: Abbas Ali Naqi was born in 1947. He studied at both Kuwait University and the University of Southern California, where he received a diploma in oil and energy economics in 1980. Naqi has been with the Energy Ministry since 1971, most recently serving as the Assistant Under Secretary for Economic Affairs. He is married with four children. Naqi is a Shiite Muslim. ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LeBaron