Yemen invites foreign oil firms to bid for five blocks
17/9/2012
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Source: Reuters
Yemen has invited
international companies to bid for exploration and development rights in five
oil blocks around the country as it gives top priority to building up its oil
output and reserves, the oil minister said on Sunday.
State news agency Saba
quoted the newly appointed oil and minerals minister, Ahmed Dares, as saying
the auction aimed to attract foreign investment and increase exploration
operations.
The blocks on offer are
6, 15, 84, 85 and 102, which are located in the al-Saba'ateen basin, the
Say'un-Masila basin, and the basin of Mukalla-Sayhoot, Dares told Saba.
"Increasing oil production and reserves through expanding
exploration blocks... is a top priority for Yemen at the moment," Saba
quoted him as saying.
Yemen is a small
producer with proven oil reserves of around 3 billion barrels as of Jan. 1,
2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Oil reserves and
production are sourced from two areas, the Marib-Jawf basin in the north, and
Say'un-Masila basin in the south. The government estimates the Masila basin
holds about 84 percent of the total.
The impoverished country
is struggling to tame insurgency and rebuild its economy after years of
conflict. Political turbulence last year pushed oil output below 200,000
barrels per day.
Yemen's oil and gas
exports have been repeatedly interrupted by attacks on pipelines by Islamist
militants or disgruntled tribesmen since anti-government protests created a
power vacuum in 2011. This has led to fuel shortages and slashed earnings.
