156094
SOURCE: CBLEXCLS.007570
DRAFTED BY: ISN/RA:JDANIEL -- 11/14/2007  202-647-9486
APPROVED BY: ISN/FO:PMCNERNEY
ISN/NESS:ABURKART
NEA/ELA:GRANA
NEA/IPA:JPECCIA
DESIRED DISTRIBUTION:
NEA, T, ISN
                  ------------------2CA1AF  141630Z /38
R 141559Z NOV 07
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY AMMAN
USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
INFO AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
AMCONSUL JERUSALEM

UNCLAS STATE 156094 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KNNP PARM PREL
SUBJECT: NUCLEAR POWER MEETINGS IN JORDAN 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 2752 
     ¶B. AMMAN 2442 
     ¶C. AMMAN 1764 
     ¶D. AMMAN 939 
     ¶E. AMMAN 138 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) On August 9, Alex Burkart, Deputy Director of the 
Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety and Security, Bureau of 
International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN/NESS), Jody 
Daniel, Office of Regional Affairs (ISN/RA), and Embassy 
Econoff held several meetings with Jordanian officials to 
discuss Jordan's interest in pursuing a peaceful nuclear 
power program (reftels).  The delegation met with senior 
officials at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources 
(MEMR), the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), and the 
National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).  Overall, it 
appeared that while ready and willing to pursue a nuclear 
power program, under nonproliferation conditions the United 
States would find appropriate, the Government of Jordan lacks 
the funding to plan and regulate it. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (U) Khaldoun Qutishat, Secretary General of MEMR, 
explained that Jordan is exploring all energy options, 
including nuclear, in light of Jordan's growing energy 
demands (Ref B).  Jordan's growing energy demands are 
compounded by the fact that Jordan imports over 95 percent of 
its energy, and 80 percent of electricity is generated from 
natural gas from Egypt.  With the growing price of natural 
gas, Jordan's energy costs in 2006 accounted for more than 20 
percent of its GDP. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Qutishat informed the delegation that if the GOJ 
pursued nuclear power, MEMR was interested in a 
Build-Own-Operate (BOO) concept in which the privately owned 
and operated nuclear power plant would sell electricity to 
the government owned electric power distribution company, 
National Electric Power Company (NEPCO).  This follows the 
Independent Power Producer model that is already in effect 
for AES/Mitsui (Ref E).  The Ministry would provide the 
company with a guaranteed price and market share necessary 
for the company to be profitable.  Qutishat said that the 
Ministry did not have a problem with the reactor being owned 
by a foreign company. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ministry is planning on a nuclear power plant of 
about 400 MWe being on line around 2020.  Acknowledging that 
the reactor should represent no more than 10-12 percent of 
the entire capacity in case of maintenance or shut down, 
Qutishat said this size plant would fit within the 
anticipated grid size of nearly 4000 MWe.  He added that 
Jordan was considering using some of the power from the 
reactor for desalination, but he well understood the problems 
of having too large a plant for the grid. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Burkart asked Qutishat if Jordan had considered the 
possibility of sharing a reactor with one or more of its 
neighbors.  Qutishat said that Jordan had not considered it, 
but, noting that Jordan has had a linked grid with Egypt for 
twelve years, he acknowledged that this would be an idea 
worth exploring.  Qutishat added that if a reactor located in 
Jordan were provide power to neighboring states, the GOJ 
could potentially look into a 600 MWe reactor.  When Burkart 
asked about the possibility of sharing nuclear power with 
Israel, Qutishat said that it would be possible since 
Jordan's grid connects to the West Bank.  However, Quitshat 
noted, opening the shared grid to Israel would require the 
unanimous consent of all current members of the grid network, 
including Syria. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In addition to the discussions about the future of 
nuclear power in Jordan, Qutishat mentioned that the GOJ has 
begun exploring how to exploit Jordan's extensive oil shale 
reserves for generating electricity.  According to Qutishat, 
over 77 percent of the world's oil shale is located in 
Jordan.  As most of the oil is in deep shale or shallow shale 
with a high sulfur content, to date it has not been 
economical to extract the oil from the shale.  However, with 
the rising cost of oil and newly developed technology, 
several companies are working with MEMR to explore the 
economic feasibility of this endeavor (Ref B). 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During a visit to the JAEC, the delegation met with 
JAEC Director General Dr. Ziad Kodah, CEO of the new Jordan 
Energy Corporation (JEC) Riyad Bitar, and Dr. Ned Xoubi, 
Chairman of the Nuclear Engineering Department of Jordan 
University of Science and Technology (JUST).  Kodah expressed 
strong desires for local content of a Jordanian nuclear power 
program and appeared less fixed on how Jordan might proceed 
in developing its nuclear ambitions.  One of its goals is 
ensuring effective technology transfer and national 
participation in all phases.  However, Kodah made clear that 
while JAEC was interested in recovering uranium from its 
extensive phosphate resources through JEC, it was not 
interested in uranium conversion, enrichment or fuel 
fabrication.  Jordan would buy the fuel, but according to 
Kodah, Jordan's uranium reserve was a strategic asset and 
integral component of Jordan's future nuclear industry.  When 
asked what types of U.S. assistance would be available for 
uranium exploration and character 
ization, the delegation said that would explore possibilities 
back in Washington. 
 
¶8. (SBU) JAEC was less certain than MEMR about the size of 
the reactor and was considering a variety of types, including 
an on-line refueled CANDU from Canada.  Kodah also pointed 
out that Jordan is already a party to the Non-Proliferation 
Treaty (NPT), a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an 
Additional Protocol and would consider other treaties as 
appropriate. 
 
¶9. (U) Kodah said that although NEPCO had developed a 
national strategy to explore all option for addressing 
Jordan's future energy needs, Jordan needed an economic and 
technical feasibility study specific to nuclear power.  JAEC 
is hoping to work with the IAEA through a 2008 Technical 
Cooperation project to develop such a study. 
 
¶10. (U) According to Kodah, Jordan has established two 
independent entities to handle planning and regulation.  It 
has begun the process of developing manpower through 
establishing a Nuclear Engineering degree program at the 
Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST).  As many 
of Jordan's existing experts are U.S. educated, JUST is 
talking to U.S. universities for assistance.  (Note: On July 
26, JUST signed an MOU with North Carolina State University 
proposing collaboration and exchanges in the field of nuclear 
engineering.  We understand that JUST also has agreements 
with the University of Illinois, Virginia Tech, Ohio State 
and the University of California.)  Xoubi made a request for 
USG support (a few million dollars in seed money) to begin 
acquisition of a small research reactor for training and 
isotope production.  He suggested that a reactor of less than 
5 MW would be appropriate, and mentioned General Atomics as a 
potential source.  Jordanian interlocutors noted that there 
have also been extens 
ive discussions with the IAEA, and Burkart highlighted IAEA 
Footnote A Projects and Fellowships as useful mechanisms for 
identifying needs and funding for technical cooperation. 
Burkart pointed out that Jordan should focus first on 
planning and regulation, and that localization should be 
focused first on supporting technologies that could later be 
used to foster non-nuclear development (e.g., high quality 
welders).  As discussion explored various ways the United 
States might be helpful, Kodah stressed that JAEC's emphasis 
was on something near term and tangible as a demonstration of 
support. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The delegation had anticipated more discussion of a 
U.S-Jordan nuclear energy cooperation agreement, but the 
responsible Jordanian official was unavailable.  Burkart 
provided a copy of the U.S.-Egypt agreement as a model. 
While ISN had thought an agreement would not be necessary for 
several years, Xoubi said that JUST would like to acquire a 
surplused sub-critical reactor.  Such a transfer would 
require such a nuclear cooperation agreement if it came from 
the United States. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Similar themes surfaced during the meeting with Dr. 
Ahmad Hiyasat, Managing Director of NEPCO, although NEPCO was 
less sure whether a nuclear power plant would be privately or 
government owned.  Hiyasat also spoke in more detail about 
the linked grid Jordan shares with Turkey, Syria, Egypt, 
Libya, Lebanon and Iraq (Ref A).  Hiyasat conveyed the same 
point as Qutishat had about the potential problems with 
sharing nuclear power with Israel: while Jordan would not 
object, Syria does not have a peace treaty with Israel and 
has objected previously to including Israel in the grid. 
RICE 
 
 
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