US embassy cable - 05MANAMA816

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000816 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2015 
TAGS: EPET, PREL, BA, QA 
SUBJECT: QATAR-BAHRAIN GAS PIPELINE: BAHRAIN REMAINS 
OPTIMISTIC 
 
REF: A. DOHA 934 B. MANAMA 692 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T.Monroe.  Reason: 1.5 (B)(D) 
 
1. (SBU) Ref B reported indications from Bahrain that Bahrain 
and Qatar had concluded a framework agreement on an agreement 
for Qatar to supply Bahrain with natural gas via a pipeline, 
and that GOB officials were confident that the project would 
soon move forward.  Ref A quoted Qatari officials as saying 
that there were in fact no immediate plans to move forward on 
the deal, and that the press reports were more designed as 
political gestures to demonstrate sound relations between the 
two countries. 
 
2. (C) Ambassador, in a June 7 discussion with Minister of 
Industry Hassan Fakhro, asked about the proposed pipeline, 
stating that we had indications from Qatar that the deal 
might not be quite as imminent as Bahrain press reports had 
indicated.  Fakhro, a close confidant of the King, was 
emphatic that the deal is moving forward, saying that it had 
been sealed in a very private and unpublicized weekend visit 
several weeks ago by the Emir of Qatar, who had stayed at the 
palace with King Hamad. With the Emir's backing, Fakhro was 
confident that the contract details, including price, would 
be worked out. 
 
3. (C) Separately, Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin 
Mubarak Al-Khalifa sounded a similar line, telling the 
Ambassador that Bahrain now has excellent relations with 
Qatar, and the parties were now negotiating the price for the 
natural gas deal.  Shaikh Mohammed commented that "the warmer 
the relationship, the less cost matters" to the Qataris. He 
noted that planning for a causeway between the two countries 
was also moving forward positively. 
 
4. (C) Comment.  We are well aware that the positive 
soundings we are hearing in Bahrain are at odds with what our 
colleagues in Doha are hearing.  Bahraini optimism comes in 
the context of a continued improvement in bilateral 
relations, and a real need for the gas.  Whether Bahrain's 
optimism is well placed, or is a misreading of the Qatari 
position, remains to be seen. 
MONROE