VZCZCXRO6325
OO RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #0592/01 0991316
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081316Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8162
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHHH/OPEC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 0201
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RHRMAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 000592 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR DAS GGRAY 
DEPT OF ENERGY PASS TO A/S KKOLEVAR, DAS HAGBERG, AND 
MWILLIAMSON 
S/CT FOR GFEIERSTEIN AND BAVERILL 
TREASURY PASS TO A/S CLOWERY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2018 
TAGS: APER EPET ENERG SA
SUBJECT: HUMAN RESOURCES DEVOTED TO ENERGY ISSUES 
 
REF: A. E-MAIL WITH EXCEL ATTACHMENT SROSS-RJACHIM 
        4/8/2008 "ENERGYPERSONNELCOSTS" 
     ¶B. SECSTATE 10743 
 
Classified By: DCM Michael Gfoeller for reasons 
1.4 (b) (c) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (U)  This message is cleared by DOE/OE Assistant 
Secretary Kolevar. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶2.  (U)  Per reftel B request, the State Department expended 
$275,269 on personnel costs to cover energy-related issues at 
Mission Saudi Arabia during the last year, and an additional 
$27,538 in program funds for energy-related activities.  The 
Mission also expended an additional $21,306 in Department of 
Energy-sourced funding to support long-term DOE TDY 
assistance in Saudi Arabia.  A complete analysis of Mission 
personnel, percent of time they devote to energy issues, 
personnel costs, and related program costs is included in ref 
A in an Excel spreadsheet format.  Program costs may vary 
from year to year depending on work load and visitor demands. 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
Energy Issues and Personnel Coverage 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Personnel Costs:  Mission personnel, predominantly 
at Embassy Riyadh and Consulate General Dhahran, cover a wide 
spectrum of energy issues, including monitoring and reporting 
on energy developments, developing and maintaining contacts 
with high-level energy officials, and supporting U.S. based 
energy-related investments in Saudi Arabia.  Personnel 
reported on new petroleum sector projects, management of 
Saudi Aramco oil resources, and developments in the gas 
sector.  Personnel also invested significant resources 
managing the OPEC relationship, and devoted a small but 
increasing amount of time to emerging climate change, 
renewable energy, and carbon sequestration issues. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Since 2007,  we have supported numerous high-level 
energy delegations, including the Secretary of Energy in 
January 2008, and several visits by Assistant Secretaries of 
Energy. In 2008, the Mission also supported POTUS and VPOTUS 
visits, whose visits had significant energy components.  In 
2007, the Assistant Secretary for International Affairs 
conducted a formal meeting of the Energy Working Group, one 
of six tracks of the US-Saudi Strategic Dialogue.  The 
Mission also supported technical delegations, such as the 
2008 visit by the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil 
Energy to the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum in 
Dhahran.  The Regional Security Officer in Dhahran invested 
time on liaison work with Saudi Aramco officials concerning 
security issues in the Eastern Province. 
 
¶5.  (U)  The Mission provided significant coverage for 
facilitation of visa and travel issues for high level Saudi 
Aramco and SABIC company officials to travel to the U.S., 
including to conclude new investments in the Saudi 
Aramo/Shell Port Arthur refinery. (Note that per reftel B 
guidance, figures below do not include the direct Consular 
costs of issuing visas, which are significant in Saudi 
Arabia.)  Other Economic Officers provided coverage on energy 
issues in the absence of staff with core energy 
responsibilities, and augmented staffing for visits of large 
delegations. 
 
¶6.  (C)  The Mission has made in-depth and significant human 
resource investments in developing our bilateral critical 
infrastructure protection (CIP) program.  We have reported 
frequently on this program.  The Mission has supported 
numerous expert-level visits, technical exchanges, and 
vulnerability assessments by the Department of Energy's 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 
 
RIYADH 00000592  002 OF 003 
 
 
(DOE/OE), which also financed work by Sandia National 
Laboratories and the Coast Guard.  During these same 
missions, we also supported the Department of State's 
Counterterrorism Office (S/CT) and Diplomatic 
Security/AntiTerrorism Assistance Office (DS/ATA) to 
contribute their expertise. 
 
¶7.  (C)  The Mission also spends increasing time working on 
civilian nuclear power issues.  We expect this to consume an 
increasing human resource burden in the future. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Personnel Costs not Included: Additional funds are 
expended within Mission Saudi Arabia on energy issues via 
offices such as the Foreign Commercial Service and the 
Defense Attache.  However, these are not Department of 
State-sourced funds, and so have been omitted as per reftel B 
parameters.  Significant additional funds are also expended 
by both the Department of State's Consular Affairs and the 
Department of Homeland Security on the visa processing 
function in support of the energy industry.  Again, according 
to reftel B parameters, we have not included these figures. 
 
--------------- 
Program Costs 
--------------- 
 
¶9.  (U)  Program Costs:  Program costs included travel costs 
to support visiting delegations, lead working groups, and 
attendance at relevant professional conferences. Mission 
expended representational funding to maintain contact with 
senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral 
Resources, Saudi Aramco, SABIC, and other entities relevant 
to Saudi Arabia's energy sector, such as the Majlis ash 
Shoura's (Consultative Committee) Economic and Energy 
Committee, the Supreme Economic Council, and the Supreme 
Petroleum Council. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Many CIP Program Costs to Date Accounted 
for in Washington 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (C)  Embassy Riyadh has worked intensively with the 
Departments of Energy, State, Homeland Security, and Defense 
to develop a critical infrastructure protection (CIP) program 
in Saudi Arabia.  As the technical and operational lead for 
our CIP program, DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and 
Energy Reliability (DOE/OE) has expended significant program 
funds for CIP in Saudi Arabia, in the areas of  training, 
technical exchanges, contingency planning, vulnerability 
assessments, and related programs.  DOE/OE has also supported 
 energy-related CIP work at Mission Saudi Arabia (both 
Embassy Riyadh and ConGen Dhahran) with long-term TDY support 
during the last year to a total of USD $21,306 to date. 
While funded by DOE, not DOS, we note these costs in the 
interests of fully documenting the energy program funds 
expended at the Mission.  Note these costs include only TDY 
support costs incurred at Embassy Riyadh (principally TDY 
housing), and do not/not include salary costs, which continue 
to be paid out of DOE accounts in Washington.  DOE/OE should 
be contacted directly for additional information regarding 
CIP program costs or DOE TDY personnel costs. 
 
¶11. (C)  Additional personnel costs for Saudi Arabian CIP 
programs have also been supported by Department of State 
offices, including S/CT, NEA/EX, DS/ATA, and the 
PoliticalMilitary Bureau.  The Department of Homeland 
Security, particularly Coast Guard, and the Department of 
Defense, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense and 
CENTCOM, have incurred personnel costs for CIP programs. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Qualifications of Key Personnel 
-------------------------------- 
 
RIYADH 00000592  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶12.  (U)  Embassy Riyadh: 
 
Ambassador Ford Fraker  - Ambassador Fraker enjoyed a more 
than thirty year career as a banker in the Middle East, 
including significant time in the management ranks of 
Chemical Bank, Saudi International Bank, and Mees Pierson 
Investment Finance.  Ambassador Fraker has been involved in 
the financing of numerous energy projects, including those in 
Saudi Arabia.  He founded Fraker and Company,  and later the 
Trinity Group Limited, a private investment bank, where he 
served as Managing Director and Chairman at the time of his 
appointment by the President as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. 
 
Deputy Chief of Mission - The DCM is a FE-OC Senior Foreign 
Officer.  He has formerly served as Political Counselor in 
Riyadh, Deputy Director of the State Department's Office of 
Regional Security and Arms Transfer, and DCM in Armenia and 
Moldova.  He also held a variety of Economic and 
Political/Military positions, and served as advisor to the 
Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from 2003 to 2004. 
He served as Natural Resources Officer at the U.S. Mission to 
the European Union from 1992-1994, and as Energy Officer at 
Embassy Moscow.  The DCM holds a masters degree in Middle 
Eastern Studies, and studied Arabic language and Islamic 
history at the American University in Cairo.  He is a full 
member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fluent 
Arabic speaker. 
 
Economic Counselor - The Economic Counselor is an FS-01 
Foreign Service Officer, and has previously served in Iraq, 
three previous tours in Saudi Arabia, and held economic 
postings throughout the Gulf region.  He holds two law 
degrees, and also graduate degrees in Economics, 
Administration, and International Affairs.  He has served for 
nine years in energy-related positions,  including two years 
as a resource analyst in the intelligence community, and six 
years in field positions with substantial energy interest. 
The Economic Counselor conducted research into energy issues 
for one year as the faculty member of a war college. 
 
Energy Attache/Deputy Economic Counselor - A FS-2 Foreign 
Service Officer, the Energy Attache served two years as 
Energy Officer in Nigeria during a volatile period in the 
energy industry, prior to appointment in Saudi Arabia.  The 
Energy Attache has also served tours as the 
Economic/Commercial Officer in Afghanistan and Mozambique, 
and in Brazil.  The officer holds a Masters of Business 
Administration with a focus in international financial and 
economic issues, and trained in petroleum issues at the 
National Foreign Affairs Training Center. 
 
Consulate General Dhahran: 
 
Consul General - The Consul General in Dhahran is a FS-01 
Foreign Service Officer and a 23-year veteran of the Foreign 
Service, having served predominantly in the Middle East and 
South Asia.  He has served a previous tour in Saudi Arabia, 
and covered energy issues previously in Yemen and Bangladesh. 
He is a fluent Arabic speaker. 
 
Political/Economic Officer - The Political/Economic Officer 
is an FS-04 officer who previously served in Mexico, where he 
covered energy issues in addition to other reporting issues. 
He also speaks Arabic. 
FRAKER