Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 6308 / 251,287

### Articles

Brazil Sri Lanka United Kingdom Sweden Editorial United States Latin America Egypt Yemen Jordan

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02 2011/03
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01 2011/02/02 2011/02/03 2011/02/04 2011/02/05 2011/02/06 2011/02/07 2011/02/08 2011/02/09 2011/02/10 2011/02/11 2011/02/12 2011/02/13 2011/02/14 2011/02/15 2011/02/16 2011/02/17 2011/02/18 2011/02/19 2011/02/20 2011/02/21 2011/02/22 2011/02/23 2011/02/24 2011/02/25 2011/02/26 2011/02/27 2011/02/28
2011/03/01 2011/03/02 2011/03/03 2011/03/04 2011/03/05 2011/03/06 2011/03/07 2011/03/08 2011/03/09 2011/03/10 2011/03/11 2011/03/13 2011/03/14 2011/03/15 2011/03/16 2011/03/17 2011/03/18 2011/03/19 2011/03/20 2011/03/21 2011/03/22 2011/03/23 2011/03/24

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 85 86 88 89 90 96 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1985/03
1986/05
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08 1990/10
1996/11
2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/07 2001/10 2001/11
2002/02 2002/03 2002/04 2002/07 2002/11
2003/02 2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Amsterdam American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Banjul Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Ciudad Juarez Consulate Chennai Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone Consulate Guadalajara
Embassy Helsinki Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Hermosillo Consulate Hamburg
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kathmandu Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Ljubljana Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy Lilongwe Embassy La Paz Consulate Lahore Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Mbabane Embassy Maputo Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Malabo Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Mumbai Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey Consulate Milan
Embassy New Delhi Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Consulate Vladivostok
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ASEC AF AMGT AORC AE AR ASIG ABLD AFFAIRS AG APECO AO AL AJ AM AU AEMR APER AS AID AFIN ACOA AA AMED AROC AX ATFN ASEAN AFGHANISTAN ADCO AFU AER ALOW AODE ABUD ATRN ASUP AC AZ AVERY APCS ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG AGMT
BRUSSELS BR BA BEXP BTIO BF BY BM BU BO BL BH BG BE BIDEN BK BX BBSR BC BT BB BILAT BMGT BTIU
CU CVIS CMGT CS CBW CO CI CH COUNTERTERRORISM CA CASC CG COUNTER CY CE CDG CD CV CJAN CACM CDB CAN CIA CLINTON COE CM CPAS CACS CWC CN COUNTRY CLEARANCE CF CONDOLEEZZA CT CARSON CL CR CIS CODEL CTM CB COM CKGR CONS CJUS
DOD DR DA DEAX DJ DOE DISENGAGEMENT DEA DK DHS DTRA DS DOMESTIC
ECON EUN ETTC ENRG ETRD EFIN EG ELAB EINV EINVEFIN ES EU EAID EAGR ECUN EAIR EC EXTERNAL ECIN EMIN EPET EWWT ELTN ELECTIONS ECPS EIND ER ENVR EZ EN EINDETRD EI EINT EREL EUR ET ENIV ENVI ENNP EFIS ECA ENERG ETRO EUC ECIP ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS ECINECONCS ENGY EK EFINECONCS ELN EFTA ECONCS ECONOMICS ECONEFIN EINVETC EINN ENGR ESA ETC ETRDEINVTINTCS ESENV ETRDECONWTOCS EUNCH EINVECONSENVCSJA
FR FARC FMLN FREEDOM FBI FAO FTAA FI FJ FINR
GM GG GOI GZ GT GTMO GTIP GA GV GH GANGS GR GE GAZA GCC GOV GY
HO HURI HA HU HR HILLARY HUMAN HK HSTC HYMPSK
IR IN IZ IS IT INTERPOL IMO IC ISRAELI ICJ ITALY ITALIAN IRAQI IAEA IO IV ICTY IPR ID INRB ITRA ICAO IQ IACI IWC ICRC IIP IA INR ITPGOV IZPREL IL ITPHUM ILC IRC INRA INRO IRAJ IEFIN IF INTELSAT ILO IBRD IMF
JO JA JM JAMES JUS JOSEPH JP JOHNNIE
KSPR KCRM KJUS KTFN KNNP KWBG KDEM KRFD KPAL KISL KPAO KSUM KSEP KCOR KIRF KIPR KVPR KU KWMN KTIA KE KR KSCA KAWK KV KPRP KPKO KGHG KBIO KMDR KN KPWR KHLS KCIP KWAC KMIG KG KOLY KGIC KOMC KS KNPP KFLU KWMM KSTH KZ KDRG KFIN KHIV KERG KNEI KIFR KTIP KFRD KPLS KFLO KUNR KTLA KBCT KTDB KDEMAF KICC KPIN KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KGCC KAWC KIRC KACT KSTC KRAD KBTS KPRV KBTR KNSD KMPI KX KCFE KCRS KSEC KSAF KFSC KMCA KGIT KRVC KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KVIR KO KNUP KTER KDDG KHSA KMRS KHDP KPAK KNAR KREL KPAI KTEX KCOM KNNPMNUC KPOA KLIG KOCI KHUM KDEV KNUC KCFC KREC KOMS KWWMN KTBT KIDE KWMNCS
LE LY LG LAB LH LU LOG LO LI LT LTTE
MARR MCAP MOPS MASS MIL MX MTCRE MNUC MY MO MR MAR MPOS MEPP MA ML MD MZ MOPPS MAPP MU MASC MP MT MERCOSUR MV MRCRE MK MDC MI MAPS MCC MASSMNUC MQADHAFI MUCN MTCR MG MC MTRE MEPI
NATO NL NATIONAL NI NU NP NG NIPP NO NPT NS NSF NSG NA NGO NZ NRR NAR NE NASA NK NPG NT
OTRA OVIP OPDC OREP OPRC OSCI OEXC OAS ODIP OFDP OTR OPIC OSAC OIIP OSCE OECD OPCW OVP OIC OFFICIALS OIE
PREL PGOV PK PTER PINR PHUM PARM POL PINS PEPR PINT PBTS PHSA PSOE POLITICAL PARTIES PSI PALESTINIAN PREF PM PA PE PROP POLITICS PO PBIO PECON PL PU PAK POGOV PRGOV PKFK PLN PG POV PMIL PY PFOR PRAM PAO PMAR PINL PGOVLO PHALANAGE PARTY PUNE PORG PHUMPREL PF POLINT PHUS PGOC PNR PGGV PNAT PGOVE PRL PROV PTERE PGOF PHUMBA PARMS PINF PEL
QA
RS RW RU RO RF RIGHTS RICE ROBERT RFE REGION RP
SP SI SA SNAR SCUL SOCI SENV SY SU SMIG STEINBERG SN SR SZ SO SG SF SW SL SYR SIPRS SH SNARCS SOFA SANC SHUM SK ST SC SAN SEVN
TU TBIO TSPA TW TRGY TS TX TERRORISM TPHY TI TIP TC TP TH TSPL TK TNGD TZ TINT TRSY TO TR TFIN TD TT TURKEY
USEU UZ UNGA UK UN UY UNESCO UP UG UNMIK US UNO UNSC USTR UV UNAUS UNEP UNDP UNCHS UNHRC UNVIE UNCHC UE UNDESCO USAID UNHCR UNDC USUN UAE
VE VT VZ VTPREL VN VM
WTRO WI WHO WWARD WTO WB WTRQ WHA WBG WMO WEU WZ WA
XR XW XM XF XY XK XA XG XL XS XT XH XZ XC XE XD
YM YI YE YMCS
ZF ZU ZR ZI ZB ZP ZO ZANU ZA ZOELLICK ZK ZJ

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page Contact us on IRC

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 09SOFIA69, BULGARIA’S BELENE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - BUYERS

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09SOFIA69.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09SOFIA69 | 2009-02-17 14:02 | 2010-12-20 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Sofia

`

    VZCZCXRO4314
    PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHSF #0069/01 0481414
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 171414Z FEB 09
    FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5772
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000069

    SIPDIS

    PASS TO EUR/CE TOM YEAGER

    EO 12958 DECL: 02/17/2019
    TAGS ENRG, PGOV, PREL, BU
    SUBJECT: BULGARIA’S BELENE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - BUYERS
    REMORSE ON ALL SIDES EXCEPT RUSSIA’S
    REF: 08 SOFIA 0815

    Classified By: Amb. Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    ¶1. (C) Summary: Despite its status as Bulgaria’s highest priority energy project, the Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is foundering. Marred by cost over-runs, financing problems, infighting between strategic partners, XXXXXXXXXXXX and serious delays, the project is looking increasingly like a lemon. The relationship between the government and the project’s strategic investor, the German RWE, is one of mutual buyer’s remorse. But with 700 million euros in sunk costs, in addition to priceless political capital already invested, the government is unlikely to walk away from the project. End Summary.

    ¶2. (C) When Bulgarians talk about the Belene nuclear power plant, they increasingly do so in hushed tones. Issues of delays, financing woes, non-transparent horse-trading and side deals, Russian influence, middle-man rent seeking, and the interests of well-connected politicians and energy oligarchs inevitably come up. Belene’s construction offered the perfect chance for Bulgaria to decrease its independence on Russian energy sources. But the Stanishev-led government, indebted to Russia-connected energy oligarchs, let the opportunity slip away. In 2006, Bulgaria chose Russian company AtomStroyExport over a Skoda-led consortium as Belene NPP’s main contractor. The tender was managed by former Minister of Economy and Energy Rumen Ovcharov, a pro-Russia energy maestro, who left office (but not political life) in June 2007 after an energy-related corruption scandal. The Belene deal lacked transparency and reeked of side deals involving the proposed South Stream gas pipeline and the long-term gas transit contract Ovcharov was negotiating with Gazprom at the same time.

    -------------------------------
    ONE OLD PROJECT GETS A NEW LIFE
    -------------------------------

    ¶3. (C) Belene was originally started in the 1980s, but was abandoned in the early 1990s due to lack of funds. In 2005, to make up for the European Commission’s decision to close Bulgaria’s Kozluduy NPP reactors 1-4, the Bulgarian government approved the construction of a new 2000 MWe plant at Belene. (Note: Kozluduy units 1 and 2 were shut down due to safety concerns in 2003, while units 3 and 4 were taken off-line at the end of 2006, on the eve of Bulgaria’s EU accession.) The Bulgarian National Electric Company (NEC) hired WorleyParsons as the strategic architect engineer for the financing and construction of the plant in 2005. Belene,s two units (1 and 2) will be of the Russian A-92 design (third generation) with pressurized water reactor (PWR), each producing 1000 MW electric power. The main contractor of the project, AtomStroyExport, is working with the main foreign contractor CARSIB Consortium (Areva and Siemens). In December 2008 NEC and RWE (Germany) signed a strategic investor agreement for the project with NEC controlling 51 percent and RWE with 49 percent.

    ¶4. (C) Bulgarian company participation in the Belene project is approximately 30 percent.  XXXXXXXXXXXXThe French bank PNB Paribus financed the pre-construction loan of 250 million Euros. Currently, teams are preparing the site for new construction by tearing down old infrastructure from the 1980s. The plant’s construction is expected to begin in late 2009 or early 2010. Construction will be in two stages. Unit 1 was originally planned to come on-line in 2014-2015 followed by Unit 2 in 2015-2016, according to the Belene NPP Managing Director, Jordan Georgiev. These time frames are now widely in doubt.

    ---------------
    BUYER’S REMORSE
    ---------------

    ¶5. (C) Despite its due diligence, our contacts tell us Belene,s strategic investor, RWE, is now experiencing regret about its purchase. According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, RWE
    SOFIA 00000069 002 OF 002
    worries about the project’s lack of transparency and the need to work with AtomStroyExport. RWE wants to enforce European business practices, and is now demanding to review all Belene-related agreements. RWE is reportedly negotiating with Belgium’s Electrabel to join it as a subcontractor (likely to be announced in mid-March) to help re-inforce standard European business practices. RWE’s insistence on reviewing all agreements is causing Bulgaria heartburn. Delays of 3-5 years have already been announced, and Belene is not expected to come on-line until 2016-2017. According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, RWE realizes that working with Russian and Bulgarian companies in the energy sector is a “poisonous combination” for European investment. Transparency is affecting financing. RWE (and Electrabel) want European banks to finance their half of the project, hoping EU restrictions and western lending standards would help with transparency. However, with the current global financial crisis, they believe finding a European bank will be difficult and may reluctantly have to turn to Russia for the money.

    ¶6. (C) The Bulgarians are also experiencing buyer’s remorse. Despite Russia’s offer to extend a loan of about four billion Euros for the project, rumors abound that the Russians do not have the money to finance the project and the Bulgarians have been reluctant to take the money in any event, for fear of being seen as “too close” to the Russians.  For their part, the Bulgarians at Belene are chafing at RWE,s close scrutiny of all decisions and complain that this approach is needlessly slowing the project. Our contacts say that some Bulgarian officials are beginning to admit privately that in Belene, they have bought “a lemon.” NEC has sunk approximately 700 million euros into the project, while the Russians are not out of pocket and could walk away losing nothing. Meanwhile, cost estimates for Belene continue to creep up, running as high as eight billion euros, double the original price.

    ------------------------------
    BELENE VS KOZLUDUY UNITS 7 & 8
    ------------------------------

    ¶7. (C) The rumors of trouble at Belene have resurrected the idea of a competing project at Bulgaria’s only working nuclear power plant, Kozluduy. Bulgarian Minister of Energy and Economy Petar Dimitrov has been actively and publicly courting Westinghouse to invest in a project to build two new reactors at Kozluduy -- units 7 and 8. Contacts say that the existing infrastructure, powerlines connecting Kozluduy to the national power grid, and a highly-skilled workforce close by at currently-operating Kozludy 5 and 6 give Kozluduy 7 and 8 at least a one billion euro cost edge over Belene. Westinghouse officials are cautiously interested, but only if the Belene project is abandoned and Bulgarian government financial support is put into Kozluduy. They want to avoid being used simply to create a new sense of urgency to jump-start Belene.

    ¶8. (C) Comment: There is clearly something amiss at Belene. Asked whether the project was in jeopardy, a senior WorleyParsons official privately told us that while the project was still likely to go forward, “countries walk away from deals like this all the time.” With elections on the horizon and 700 million euros in sunk costs, in addition to priceless political capital already invested, the government is unlikely to abandon the project any time soon. But it may be on a very slow track.
    McEldowney

`