NICARAGUA: OPIC MOSBACHER ANNOUNCES HOUSING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 002168 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS OPIC E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2017 TAGS: EINV EPET EFIN NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: OPIC MOSBACHER ANNOUNCES HOUSING FINANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE FELIX; ORTEGA OFFERS A WAY FORWARD ON OIL EXPLORATION REF: A. MANAGUA 2102 ¶B. MANAGUA 1963 ¶C. MANAGUA 1217 ¶D. MANAGUA 645 ¶E. 06 MANAGUA 764 Classified By: Ambassador Trivelli, reasons E.O. 12958 1.4 (b, d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On September 12, OPIC President and CEO Robert Mosbacher announced that his agency will expand an existing mortgage facility with local bank Bancentro to fund the reconstruction of houses destroyed by Hurricane Felix. In a subsequent meeting, CEO Mosbacher explained to Free Trade Zone (FTZ) Commission Secretary General Alvaro Baltodano that OPIC financing for up to 30,000 houses for FTZ workers could not move forward until OPIC,s liability for two oil concessions to MKJ and Infinity (U.S. companies) had cleared. President Ortega later told CEO Mosbacher and the Ambassador that he never meant Venezuelan participation in the oil concessions to be a condition for project initiation. (Comment: This assertion is contrary to all other indications, including actions and statements made by the Minister of Energy. End Comment.) Ortega then promised to arrange a meeting in early October to formally resolve all issues surrounding the oil concessions. End Summary. OPIC Announces $7 Million Housing Reconstruction Fund -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On September 12, OPIC President and CEO Mosbacher signed a memorandum of intent whereby OPIC will expand its existing mortgage facility with local bank Bancentro by $7 million to fund the reconstruction of houses destroyed by Hurricane Felix. Loans will be geared toward low and middle-income home owners in the Autonomous Northern Atlantic Region (RAAN) of Nicaragua. At the signing ceremony, which received extensive coverage from national media, the Ambassador presented an overview of U.S. disaster assistance to date (Ref A). Bancentro President Roberto Zamora announced that within a few weeks Bancentro will open a branch in Puerto Cabezas to facilitate the bank's lending program and other operations. General Alvaro Baltodano, Presidential Delegate to ProNicaragua (Nicaragua's investment promotion agency) and Secretary General of the Free Trade Zone Commission, delivered a few words on behalf of the �0A;Nicaraguan Government. (Note: Baltodano is President Ortega,s point person for OPIC housing programs. End Note) ¶3. (SBU) Prior to the ceremony, Bancentro President Zamora and CEO Mosbacher discussed the challenges of lending in the RAAN. Zamora explained that there is little formal employment there, making it difficult to evaluate the creditworthiness of borrowers. A lack of formal land titling is another obstacle. CEO Mosbacher offered to share OPIC,s experience in these areas. Bancentro officials presented the elements of a proposed lending program that was still a work in progress. Both Bancentro and OPIC officials would work together to iron out the program. Restoring U.S. Company Oil Concessions -------------- ¶4. (C) After the signing ceremony, CEO Mosbacher and the Ambassador met privately with FTZ Executive Secretary Baltodano to discuss problems with the OPIC-insured investments of two U.S. oil exploration companies. In May, the Supreme Court ruled the offshore oil exploration concessions of MKJ and Infinity (U.S. companies) null because the autonomous regions had not been properly consulted. The Ambassador noted that he had recently met with leaders of both autonomous regions, who voiced no objections to the concessions moving forward (Ref B). CEO Mosbacher said that he understood that President Ortega had conditioned the restoration of the concessions on a partnership with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). CEO Mosbacher suggested that it was unlikely that PDVSA would want to participate in an exploration project, where the risks are high, or that small companies like MKJ and Infinity would want such a large partner. CEO Mosbacher suggested that PDVSA might want a role in the development phase, that is, if oil or gas were discovered. ¶5. (C) CEO Mosbacher explained that OPIC financing for up to 30,000 houses for Free Trade Zone (FTZ) workers, a proposal that he had discussed previously with Baltodano, could not move forward until OPIC,s liability for these oil concessions had cleared. MKJ and Infinity should be allowed to move forward with oil exploration according to the terms of their respective concession agreements or under revised concession agreements where they are not materially disadvantaged (Refs C and E). ¶6. (C) Baltodano took these points on board and suggested that all parties seek clarity in a September 25 meeting among the Government of Nicaragua, representatives from the RAAN and the RAAS, PDVSA, and the U.S. oil companies. CEO Mosbacher stated that if PDVSA does not show interest in the exploration concessions by then, or does not attend the meeting, then the government should move forward with the existing concession contracts, so that these projects and the FTZ housing project can proceed. Ortega Says PDVSA Participation Not a Condition -------------- -- ¶7. (C) CEO Mosbacher concluded his visit to Managua with a meeting with President Ortega. First Lady Rosario Murillo, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Santos, and the Ambassador also participated. (Comment: This is the first time that President Ortega has met with a U.S. public official behind closed doors. Normally, he lectures his guests for ninety minutes or more in meetings that are open to the press. In this meeting, which lasted a little more than 30 minutes, Ortega was relaxed, pragmatic, lucid, and focused. End Comment.) ¶8. (C) CEO Mosbacher described OPIC,s fund for the Atlantic Coast that he had announced with Bancentro. Ortega asked pointed questions about the fund. Mosbacher explained that the loan amounts would be as low as possible, and that OPIC and Bancentro would look for creative ways to deal with property registration and loan qualification issues, for example, the new homes could be used as guarantees. OPIC is also looking at ways to incorporate hurricane-proof technologies. Ortega suggested that the loans would have the greatest acceptance in Puerto Cabezas, where a significant number of residents are regularly employed. Working with Miskito communities, he said, will be more of a challenge. The Ambassador and Murillo noted that those groups would be better served by international donors, NGOs, and the Nicaraguan government, itself. ¶9. (C) CEO Mosbacher also described the housing project for FTZ workers that he had discussed with Baltodano. Ortega wanted to know when it could start; he wanted to move fast on the project. CEO Mosbacher replied that he could move forward on the project as soon as the oil concession issues clear -- as early as the end of the year if the concession issues are resolved in October. CEO Mosbacher explained why it did not make sense to include a large company like PDVSA, with little expertise in managing exploration risk, in the exploration stage. He speculated that PDVSA might be interested later, in the developmental stage, if oil is discovered. ¶10. (C) Ortega explained that when he met with MKJ, he realized how small the company was and figured that it lacked funding; he thought he was doing MKJ a favor by suggesting that it talk with PDVSA. Ortega then claimed that he never made PDVSA participation in the project a condition for MKJ and Infinity. (Comment: This is not our understanding. On January 11, a day after Ortega,s inauguration, Foreign Minister Santos signed a bilateral agreement with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro to "integrate" the energy sectors of the two countries (Ref D). In his meeting with Ortega, MKJ Vice President Brent Abadie clearly understood that, in addition to RAAN and RAAS concurrence with the concessions, negotiations with PDVSA were the sine qua non to restore its exploration concession. Moreover, Minister of Energy Emilio Rappaccioli has constantly pushed MKJ (and other foreign energy companies) toward the Venezuelans. End Comment.) ¶11. (C) CEO Mosbacher informed Ortega that MKJ's larger partner, Noble Energy (U.S.),brought with it significant financial resources. Ortega then promised to organize a meeting for MKJ and Infinity with RAAN and RAAS officials in early October -- delayed from Baltodano's suggested September 25 because of the demands of the Hurricane Felix recovery effort -- and offered to call these officials to first win their concurrence so that the meeting would be no more than a formality. Since CEO Mosbacher's visit, Foreign Minister Santos has informed the Ambassador that the meeting will still take place September 25 and that PDVSA has been invited. Santos said that if PDVSA does not attend, they will be dropped from negotiations on this issue. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) We are reluctant to conclude that the changing posture of Ortega in this instance is due to a true change of heart. There is great likelihood that PDVSA is simply not interested in taking on the risk associated with a deep water oil exploration concession. We understand that PDVSA does not have the expertise or the technology. Overburdened by Chavez' promises to the world, PDVSA may not even have the necessary capital to spare. Having failed to entice PDVSA, Ortega simply may be returning to the table to wrangle a promise from OPIC for something that he wants: FTZ housing. We note that the FSLN wants to wrest control from non-Sandinista unions in the FTZ, and this project may be a way to make inroads. ¶13. (C) With the caveat that any FTZ housing program be open to all FTZ workers, we are hopeful that the opportunity to work with OPIC will demonstrate to Ortega that he can work with the United States to achieve mutual objectives. Should MKJ or Infinity strike oil, however, we would expect another round of legal challenges to dislodge this resource from U.S. company control. ¶14. (C) We also remind ourselves that Nicaragua's politically controlled Supreme Court nullified MKJ and Infinity's offshore oil concessions for questionable reasons in the first place. The answer to why further concurrence from the RAAN and the RAAS is needed for concessions that lie beyond waters accorded to them by the Nicaraguan constitution can likely only be found in the murky waters of partisan gain and ALBA commitments. End Comment. TRIVELLI