US embassy cable - 02AMMAN5843

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 005843 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2012 
TAGS: PREL, ENRG, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: PM SAYS JORDAN IS NOW STOCKPILING OIL ON TANKER IN 
AQABA 
 
 
Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D) 
 
1.  (C)  Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb, in answer to a 
question from the Ambassador during an October 5 conversation 
(septels on other topics), said that Jordan now has a large 
oil tanker (290,000 metric tons capacity) in the port of 
Aqaba that it will use to add to its limited strategic 
reserve of petroleum.  He said that Iraq continues to permit 
Jordan to purchase larger amounts of crude than usual, and 
that the GOJ has 70,000 metric tons of crude already in Aqaba 
and ready to be loaded into the tanker.  Abul Ragheb 
commented that, when fully loaded, the total storage in 
Jordan would provide "up to two months" of consumption, 
depending on the refined product most in demand.  He said, 
however, that if a strike on Iraq (and cut off of oil 
deliveries from Iraq) came during a cold January or February, 
the oil reserves might account for much less, perhaps only 
two-three weeks of heating oil in particular. 
GNEHM