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DE RUEHDH #0017/01 0670715
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P 080715Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL DHAHRAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0014
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY 0001
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0017

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAHRAN 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO NEA/APR FOR JOSHUA HARRIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/8/2019 
TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON EINV SA PGOV
SUBJECT: AGGRESSIVE INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION GOING FORWARD IN JUBAIL 
 
REF: A. 09 JEDDAH 62 
     ¶B. 09 RIYADH 216 
     ¶C. 08 RIYADH 1302 
 
DHAHRAN 00000017  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Joseph Kenny, Consul General, EXEC, DOS. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Key Points: 
 
------------------ 
 
 
 
-- The massive industrial expansion plan for Jubail, known as 
Jubail II, is going forward despite the economic crisis and is 
currently nine years ahead of its original schedule. 
 
 
 
-- Concessions for cheap ethane and methane feedstock for 
petrochemical plants have not come as quickly as some investors 
would like, which could jeopardize the rapid growth expected for 
Jubail II. 
 
 
 
-- Business opportunities for American companies remain 
plentiful in primary and secondary petrochemical industries, as 
well as infrastructure projects and support businesses. 
 
 
 
¶2. (C) Comment: 
 
--------------- 
 
 
 
-- Post continues to hear complaints from business leaders, both 
Saudi and foreign, about the increasing difficulty securing 
concessions of cheap gas (ethane and methane) feedstock critical 
to the petrochemical industry.  The Kingdom has the world's 
fourth largest proven gas reserves (4% of total) but exports 
none of it; in part because of the heavy subsidies it provides 
local users, there is a domestic shortage. 
 
 
 
-- The so-called second and third pillars of the Saudi 
development strategy to diversify beyond oil, petrochemicals and 
mining, rely heavily on this cheap natural gas to maintain their 
competitive advantage.  Without significant new discoveries of 
non-associated ethane and methane gases (in our view, unlikely), 
it appears that further Saudi development in these sectors may 
be cut short.  We think the Saudi government has not yet thought 
about, much less grappled with, this major obstacle to its 
diversification strategy. 
 
 
 
End key points and comment. 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) THE ROYAL COMMISSION.  On February 3, Consul General 
Kenny, EconOff and CommOff were hosted at the headquarters for 
the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RC).  The RC's 
mandate is to provide the physical, educational, and social 
infrastructure needed for companies to invest in the industrial 
city (ref A).  The RC is an autonomous agency with a board of 
directors that reports to the Council of Ministers (cabinet) and 
provides a single point of contact for investors in lieu of 
interacting with a half dozen ministries separately.  According 
to the RC and confirmed in a January 2009 MEED article, Jubail 
is the source of an incredible 70 per cent of all non-petroleum 
Saudi exports and represents 7 per cent of worldwide 
petrochemical production. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.  Jubail's strategic 
location on the Persian Gulf approximately 100 kilometers north 
of the Dammam metropolitan area gives it two major advantages: 
proximity to sources of energy and raw materials for refining 
and petrochemical production, as well as access to Asian markets 
via international sea lanes through the Gulf. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) JUBAIL II MOVING FORWARD.  Jubail II, the colossal 60 
square kilometer expansion of Jubail Industrial City, has 
 
DHAHRAN 00000017  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
received more applications from potential investors than 
available land.  The originally scheduled project completion has 
been moved up nine years from 2024 to 2015.  The RC claims that 
the major effect of the economic crisis so far has been positive 
with reduced project costs due to falling labor and material 
prices.  In fact, one RC official said that some projects may 
see savings of up to 30% by re-bidding contracts.  The RC's 
Industrial Development Manager said that most investors in 
Jubail see a return on investment within five years.  The RC 
anticipates that Jubail II will attract a total private sector 
investment of US $56 billion, providing direct employment for 
55,000 people. 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) FISHING FOR MORE JOBS FURTHER DOWNSTREAM.  In an effort 
to create more value-adding jobs in Kingdom, the Ministry of 
Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MPMR) is pushing investors to 
produce more downstream products on site at Jubail.  However, 
one well-placed source at the RC said in private that many 
foreign investors are "hesitating to go too far downstream" as 
those industries are not within their core competencies and 
normal scope of operations.  He also said that the MPMR is 
threatening to withhold the all-important cheap gas feedstock 
concessions unless companies push further downstream in their 
activities.  (Note:  Prospective companies are often required to 
meet certain "social responsibilities," such as providing job 
training or building recreational facilities, before rights to 
the feedstock are granted.  End note.)  In Jubail, the primary 
competitive advantage -- and primary reason why investors flock 
there -- is access to cheap ethane and methane concessions at a 
fixed price of $0.75 per million BTU, a fraction of the 
international market price of around $4.00 per million BTU. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) BUILDING ON PAST FOUNDATIONS.  The RC invested nearly US 
$13 billion of public funds in developing Jubail since it was 
established by royal decree in 1975.  Many of those initial 
investments -- seawater cooling channels, roads, the port, 
housing, and educational facilities -- will benefit the Jubail 
II expansion at hardly any additional cost.  The Bechtel 
Corporation was instrumental in planning Jubail and is currently 
contracted by the RC to run the city's overall day-to-day 
operations. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) A PLEA FOR AMERICAN INVESTORS.  Echoing calls from nearly 
all major Saudi industrialists in the region, RC officials 
communicated their preference to work with U.S. companies.  They 
cited their college experience in the United States, strong ties 
with Aramco, and similar corporate cultures as all reasons why 
they prefer to work with American businesses.  They also 
highlighted the opportunity for companies not directly 
associated with petrochemicals to do business in Jubail.  For 
example, RC officials are traveling to the U.S. later this year 
to sign a contract with an American company to provide traffic 
signal technology for the entire industrial city. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS FOR A DIRTY INDUSTRY.  Just 
before seeing the immense steel industrial structures dominating 
Jubail's skyline, one first notices the hazy, brown smog 
trailing off to the southwest of the city.  The residential 
community is situated to the northeast of the industrial areas, 
upwind from these emissions.  Nevertheless, the RC officials say 
that the industrial city meets or exceeds California air and 
water pollution standards and has won several regional awards 
for its environmental record.  Sewage and waste water is treated 
before being released into the Gulf or used for irrigation in 
the well-planned public gardens and road median plots.  The RC 
constantly monitors pollution levels in the air, ground water, 
and along the coast. 
 
 
 
¶10. (U) VOCATIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN DEMAND.  The all-male Jubail 
Industrial College awards three-year associate degrees in fields 
related to chemical technology, mechanical and manufacturing 
engineering, electrical and electronic studies, and information 
systems.  Though graduates have the option to pursue a final two 
years of a bachelor degree at a Saudi university, many enter the 
labor force directly.  In fact, one RC official said that local 
businesses have a higher demand for vocational graduates than 
university graduates.  There is also a Jubail Technical 
Institute (JTI) that trains high school graduates for a period 
of one and one-half years (or the equivalent of three academic 
terms and awards recognized certificates for this training). 
 
DHAHRAN 00000017  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
For women, the Jubail College of Education for Girls was 
established.  Currently the school confers bachelor degrees in 
Physics, Mathematics, Computers, English Language and 
KENNY