AMBASSADOR DELIVERS CRITICAL ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 000784

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT, DS/ATA, NEA/ARP; NSC FOR JESSEE; ENERGY FOR
KOLEVAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2017
TAGS: EPET KCIP ASEC KU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DELIVERS CRITICAL ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
SECURITY REPORTS TO KUWAITI LEADERSHIP

REF: A. KUWAIT 419

B. KUWAIT 177

C. KUWAIT 431

D. KUWAIT 448

E. KUWAIT 506

F. KUWAIT 598

G. KUWAIT 729

H. KUWAIT 732

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) In a series of meetings between May 13-16, the
Ambassador hand-delivered hard copies of two Critical Energy
Infrastructure Protection (CEIP) reports from assessments
conducted by a State-DHS-DOE-USCG team from 13-21 May (Ref A)
and a USCENTCOM J-3 team on 1-4 February (Ref B) to Kuwaiti
leaders including:
- Prime Minister Shaykh Nasser Al-Mohamed Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah;
- First Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister and Defense
Minister Shaykh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah;
- Oil Minister Shaykh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah;
- Special Advisor to the Amir for Petroleum Issues Khaled
Al-Fulaij;
- Acting Director of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Saad
Al-Shuwaib;
- Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait National Petroleum
Company Sami Al-Rushaid; and
- General Mohammed Al-Bader, Security Decision Follow-up
Committee.


2. (C/NF) These meetings followed an initial round of
meetings conducted after the May assessment to brief leaders
on the team's initial findings and urge early implementation
of some of the short-term recommendations (Refs C-H). The
Ambassador explained that arrangements were being made for a
team of USG experts to return to Kuwait in June to answer
technical questions related to the report and provide advice
on implementation. He emphasized that the reports were
highly sensitive and should be tightly controlled since they
clearly identify a number of critical security gaps that
could potentially be exploited by terrorists.


3. (C/NF) All the leaders said they were eager to proceed
and thanked the Ambassador for the USG's continued assistance
with CEIP. They said that the matter had been raised in
recent Cabinet meetings. The Prime Minister, Interior
Minister, and Oil Minister said they had reached agreement
that coordination of CEIP across the various Kuwaiti agencies
involved (the Oil Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the
state-owned petroleum companies, the Coast Guard, and State
Security) should be managed by the Security Decision
Follow-up Committee (SDFC),a body of retired senior military
officers led by General Mohammed Al-Bader which reports
directly to the Cabinet (Ref D). All of the leaders
expressed strong support for General Al-Bader's leadership.
The Interior Minister, Oil Minister, and KNPC Chairman
particularly highlighted the General's ability to work
outside the normal government bureaucracy and operate across
organizational stovepipes to effectively implement new plans
and policies. The Prime Minister said General Al-Bader was
"not liked by everyone," but was "perfect" for this role.
The Oil Minister said National Security Bureau President
Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahad would also track CEIP efforts. The
Ambassador has requested a separate meeting with Shaykh Ahmed
to inform him of the latest CEIP developments.


4. (C/NF) General Al-Bader and his SDFC staff said that in
the past few weeks, they have already launched projects to
strengthen access controls, establish a shore protection
force, extend sea barriers, and upgrade command, control and
communications systems. (For assistance on the last of these
projects, they have hired Kroll, the U.S.-based risk
consulting company.) The SDFC has also begun long-term
planning to address security vulnerabilities in the upstream
oil sector around tank farms, gathering centers, booster
stations, and export manifolds, but they emphasized that the
more immediate priority was to enhance security in and around
the refineries and export facilities in the Shuaiba
Industrial Zone. General Al-Bader said that, ideally, he
would like to see the creation of a specialized, armed
security force with a unified chain of command to focus
exclusively on oil sector safety and security. He said he
hoped to be able to create an Oil Security Force Training
Academy to provide instruction from both security and safety
experts. General Al-Bader indicated that the SDFC has tried
in the past to overhaul the oil sector security regime, but

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has been constrained by changes in leadership at the Oil
Ministry. Al-Bader said he hoped that the active engagement
of the USG would provide him with the political boost he
needs to overcome these obstacles.


5. (C/NF) Comment: In addition to this series of high-level
meetings, the upcoming Gulf Security Dialogue (May 22)
provides an opportunity to welcome progress and encourage
further collaboration on CEIP. We similarly look forward to
the June visit by a multi-agency CEIP team to discuss the
recommendations made in the two recent USG assessment reports
and to provide advice on implementation.

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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/
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LeBaron