Yemen urges oil companies to restart production

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has called on oil companies to restart production and exploration in the country, the Ministry of Oil and Minerals said in a document seen by Reuters on Monday.

The ministry said companies involved in production and exploration should resume production as per the partnership agreements with the government, according to the document, which was a memorandum signed by Yemeni oil and minerals minister Aws Abdullah al-Awd.

Yemen’s oil output has collapsed since 2015 when a Saudi-backed military coalition intervened in Yemen’s war to try to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

Hadi’s government controls the southern port city of Aden and areas holding Yemen’s oil-and-gas fields. The Houthi forces control the capital Sanaa and the oil terminal of Ras Issa on the western coast.

The ministry also urged domestic and international oil companies to set up Yemen headquarters in the temporary capital Aden, or move them there.

Yemen has two primary crude oil streams: light and sweet Marib and medium-gravity and more sulfur-rich Masila.

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In February, al-Awd said his country aimed to increase its oil production to 110,000 barrels per day.

Yemen produced an average of 50,000 bpd of crude in 2018 compared with around 127,000 bpd in 2014. Yemen has proven oil reserves of around 3 billion barrels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.