[bratticus]

Price of Crude Oil Falls Again, but Analysts Warn It Will Remain at Lofty Levels
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS / NYT / May 6, 2011

... nearly half of Yemen’s 260,000 barrels of daily production is offline. That is a relatively small amount, but Yemeni crude is also a high-quality product that refiners find difficult to replace.

[bratticus]

Fuel crisis adds to Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh's woes
Mohammed al Qadhi / The National / May 6, 2011

SANA'A // Yemen is facing a growing fuel crisis after its crude oil exports and main refinery were shut down more than a week ago.

The shortages began after tribesmen demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down cut a main oil pipeline in the central province of Marib last month, police said. The pipeline supplied the Aden refinery and the Ras Isa export terminal on the Red Sea.

For the last five days trucks and buses at petrol stations in major cities have waited in queues at least one kilometre long to get diesel and petrol, which station employees said ran out two days ago. Stations were also rationing diminishing petrol supplies.

"I have come from my village in the hope to get some diesel for my generator to pump off water and irrigate my vegetables farm. I have been waiting here for more than six hours and now they say it is finished. This is crazy," said Hussein Mahdi as he waited for fuel yesterday. The farmer from Bani Hushaish had travelled 70 kilometres to buy his fuel in Sana'a.

The price of 20 litres of fuel from non-government suppliers, who still had stock, jumped to 6,000 Yemeni rials (Dh91) from 1,500 rials a few weeks ago. ...

[bratticus]

But everything's OK, at least according to some.

Yemen to export 2M Bbl of Masila crude mid-May
Yemen News Agency (SABA) / May 6, 2011

Yemen is expected to meet its obligation for the export of around two million barrels of Masila crude blend in mid-May, a trade source familiar with the matter has said.

[bratticus]

Guess it wasn't OK after all, huh?

Yemen strike shuts down Nexen wells
Calgary company also reports North Sea problems
By Dan Healing / Calgary Herald / May 9, 2011

A strike by local workers in Yemen has forced Calgary-based Nexen Inc. to halt oil production there, it said in a news release Monday.

“The union indicated to us (late Sunday) that they would be providing a significantly reduced workforce,” said spokesman Pierre Alvarez in an interview.

“We did not feel that we could operate the fields in a manner we’re comfortable with so we proceeded to shut down.”

Two Yemen oilfields operated by Nexen produce about 70,000 barrels per day of oil, of which the company earns 38,000 bpd, about 16 per cent of its overall year-end production of 242,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

[ColossalContrarian]

Ooh--boy, looks like we have some price pressure. Good thing people are canning their big trucks and telecommuting more in the USA.

As for what will happen in Yemen? Looks like there are some other players at hand making sure conflict reigns!

[bratticus]

Everything's OK, it's only a brief strike (which has yet to end)

Nexen halts production in Yemen due to strike
Reporting by Amruta Sabnis in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian / Reuters / May 9, 2011

Nexen Inc , Canada's No. 6 independent oil producer, said production has been temporarily shut and operations suspended in Yemen as a result of a strike by a labour union.

also only a brief moment of gunning people in the streets too.

20 protesters injured in Yemen
Press TV / May 10, 2011

Thousands of protesters staged a rally in the city on Tuesday to call for the immediate ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police forces then opened fire to disperse the anti-government march. Witnesses say those injured were shot by live rounds.

...Some 31.5 percent of the population is "food insecure", and around 12 percent are "severely food insecure,” according to the United Nations.

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Yemen imports more fuel, crude supply still off
TradeArabia / May 11, 2011

Light crude exports shut

The credit problems are unlikely to go away, another Gulf-based trader said, with nearly half of the country's oil production remaining shut.

"There is still no oil coming down from Marib," a second Yemen-based shipping source said. "And there are no exports out of Ras Isa," he added.

Yemen produces around 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Of that, around 110,000 bpd is light crude, which is in short supply globally after the loss of Libyan output in February.

The pipeline blast occurred in the central Marib province, where several oil and gas fields operated by international companies are located.

[bratticus]

Yemen ‘eyeing crude imports from Saudi Arabia’
Reuters / May 11, 2011

ALKHOBAR: Yemen is in talks to import crude oil from Saudi Arabia, a senior official said as the nation struggles to tackle its fuel crisis with nearly half of its oil production shut.

A blast in March on Yemen’s major oil pipeline, suspected to have been launched by tribesmen, has stopped the flow of light Marib crude, forcing its 130,000 barrels-per-day Aden refinery to shut and triggering a nation-wide fuel shortage.

... Yemen produced a total of around 260,000 barrels per day of crude oil in 2010. Around 110,000 barrels of that is light crude, which is in short supply globally after the loss of Libyan output in February.

Yemen on verge of economic disaster: Minister
Yemen News Agency / Saba Net / May 12, 2011

Oil and Minerals Minister Amir al-Aydarous has said that Yemen was on the verge of an economic catastrophe due to ongoing political unrest and frequent bomb attacks against oil pipelines.

"Acts of sabotage against the pipeline in Wadi Ubaida in Marib have hampered the flow of oil since mid-March and undermined the trust of investors in the country," Aydarous was quoted as saying.

"Several oil companies have quit the country and the refineries in the southwestern governorate of Aden came to a standstill a week ago," he told the Yemeni parliament, which called an urgent meeting with the cabinet to discuss the energy crisis

... Yemen's oil production, which has been in decline in the last decade, averaged just under 300,000 b/d last year, with roughly half being exported.

[bratticus]

A re-write/re-hash of the previous article.

Oil minister: Yemen 'on the brink' of economic collapse
Eric Watkins / OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor / May 13, 2011

Yemen’s oil minister said his country is on the brink of an imminent economic collapse due to recurrent bomb attacks on oil pipelines and ongoing social unrest.

“Acts of sabotage on the oil pipeline in Wadi Ubaida in Marib province have hampered the flow of oil since mid-March and undermined the confidence of foreign investors in the country,” said Amir Salim Al-Aydarus.

... Opponents of the regime, including powerful tribes, appear to be attacking the country’s oil facilities in an effort disrupt the country's exports and force Saleh’s resignation.

Security officials have said the tribes, in addition to blowing up the country’s main export pipeline, have also blocked tanker trucks from moving through their territory.

“Several foreign oil companies have quit the country and the refineries in the southern province of Aden came to a standstill a week ago,” Al-Aydarus told members of the Yemeni parliament.

... "The sabotage and destruction by outlaws on oil and gas pipelines as well as electricity lines exacerbated the economic situation," Al-Aydarus said. "If the problem persists, the government will be unable to meet the minimum needs of the citizens. The situation will pose a catastrophe beyond imagination."

[bratticus]

Oh, now the contradictory news makes sense.

Oil sector feels strain as Yemen’s Saleh clings to power
Petroleum Economist / May 23, 2011

... "In Marib, a lot of exploration has halted and companies have declared force majeure. But in Masila, operations continue largely unaffected. Some companies have faced difficulties and delays in procuring components, but this has not stopped operations ...

Marib is not the only location of the violence in Yemen.

Yemen transition plan falters, Saleh refuses to sign
By Hammoud Mounassar (AFP) / May 22, 2011

... Opposition sources said on Saturday that they had signed the accord for Saleh to cede power, but Qahtan said: "We will not take part in any signing at the presidential palace."

Meanwhile, medics said gunmen shot dead an anti-regime protester on Sunday in the capital, as members of the opposition said the protester was killed by pro-regime "thugs."

Hundreds of the veteran leader's loyalists armed with batons blocked roads in Sanaa leading to the presidential palace, to the airport and Tahrir Square near government headquarters, said an AFP correspondent.

Hundreds of thousands of Saleh opponents also took to Sanaa streets, in their biggest rally since protests began in January. Doctors marched in their white coats, while young protesters wore the red, black and white of the Yemeni flag.

Meanwhile, Republican Guards soldiers, who are led by Saleh's son Ahmed, opened fire on demonstrators and wounded seven in the city of Taez, south of Sanaa, where hundreds of thousands called for Saleh's ouster, witnesses said.

Similar protests erupted across the strategic Arabian Peninsula country in Al-Hudaydah, Ibb, Al-Baida, Marib, Aden and Hadramawt, according to local residents.

Masila is not often recognized by online maps, try Aš-Šah̨ir, Yemen. Strangely that location is in Hadramawt (Hadramaut) although Hadramaut is a large region. Plus Masila Village and Oilfield Camp in Yemen belongs to Canadian Nexen and members of Yemeni president family.

Nexen provides operations update
Scandinavian Oil-Gas Magazine / May 23, 2011

In Yemen, production returned to full rates on May 11 following a shutdown for two days due to a labour strike.

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Yemen conflict costs state $4 bn to $5 bn
The Economic Times / May 28, 2011

SANAA: The political crisis that has pushed Yemen to the brink of civil war has cost the economy as much as $5 billion, and immediate aid is needed to prevent a meltdown, the country's trade minister said on Saturday.

... Some of Yemen's biggest losses are related to fuel in the country that relies on oil for 60 percent of its income and a has a nominal GDP of $31 billion. Abdalla said in April and May, Yemen has had to import fuel and petroleum derivatives, which have cost $1 billion over the two months.

"We started doing that because the opposition pushed the tribes to bomb the oil pipeline, which has been closed since the end of March," he said.

Damaged pipelines have also cut off an important source of income for the world's 32nd largest oil exporter and 16th biggest seller of liquefied natural gas. "Our biggest problem is that we haven't been able to attract foreign direct investment to create jobs because of the security problem in Yemen," he said. ...

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Injured Saleh leaves Yemen, sparks celebrations
AP via THE TIMES OF INDIA / June 5, 2011

SANAA: Protesters danced, sang and slaughtered cows in the central square of Yemen's capital on Sunday to celebrate the departure of the country's authoritarian leader for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia after he was wounded in a rocket attack on his compound.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was taken to a military hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, underwent successful surgery on his chest to remove jagged pieces of wood that splintered from a mosque pulpit when his compound was hit by rockets on Friday, said medical officials and a Yemeni diplomat.

... The rocket attack on Saleh two days ago was marked by its precision, skill and inside knowledge. Saleh and the others were in a mosque inside his palace and only a betrayal by an insider could have pinpointed his location, Stratfor analysts said. In other words, it was an assassination attempt. ...

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Yemen Faces Abyss Despite President's Departure
Charles Hawley / Spiegel / June 6, 2011

... There are plenty of people both within Yemen and abroad, however, who believe that Saleh's departure is permanent. Thousands of people gathered in the streets of the capital Sana'a on Sunday to celebrate and talks between opposition groups and government officials are continuing. The negotiations are a continuation of talks held on a United States-backed proposal which foresees the resignation of Saleh. The Yemeni president has agreed to the deal several times in recent weeks -- only to change his mind at the last moment.

... The chaos has many in the region fearful that Yemen could descend into a failed state. The country is deeply impoverished and its power structures are fragmented, with tribal conflict a constant. Furthermore, al-Qaida has a strong foothold in the country and there are concerns that a power vacuum could provide the terror group with more freedom to operate.

[bratticus]

But everything's OK with oil, at least according to claims.

Yemen unlikely to hit oil supplies, price: experts
By Omar Hasan / AFP via zawya / June 5, 2011

Yemen's unrest is unlikely to disrupt oil supplies through the strategic Bab al-Mandab straits, experts said on Sunday after the country's injured president went abroad for medical treatment.

... "Oil prices were not impacted even when OPEC member Libya halted exports because there are fears that demand for crude may drop and there is a huge surplus in world markets," Abu-Dahesh said.

Oh, no there wasn't any impact from Libya and there certainly isn't from Yemen either.

[bratticus]

U.S. urges Yemen to move to swift transition
By Mohammed Ghobari / Reuters / June 6, 2011

Yemen's government should seize on President Ali Abdullah Saleh's absence to bring about a swift and peaceful handover of power, the United States suggested.

While Saleh remains in Riyadh recovering from his wounds from Friday's rocket attack on his palace, there is a chance that Yemen can avoid the descent into chaos that Saudi Arabia and the United States are anxious to avoid, analysts say.

"We are calling for a peaceful and orderly transition," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Washington. "We feel that an immediate transition is in the best interests of the Yemeni people."

... Yemen, which relies on oil for 60 percent of its economy, has been dealt a heavy blow by the closure of an oil pipeline that trade sources said has caused a fuel shortages.

Yemen fuel shortages grow, pipeline shut: sources
By Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Saul, editing by Jane Baird / Reuters / June 6, 2011

Fuel shortages in many parts of Yemen worsened as the country's main oil pipeline remained shut and tight funding hit imports, trade and shipping sources said on Monday.

A blast in March on the pipeline, suspected to have been carried out by angry tribesmen, has stopped the flow of light Marib crude, which has forced the 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) Aden refinery to shut and hurt fuel supplies.

"There has been no flow of crude and no Marib output. The fuel shortages are worsening, especially in Sanaa," a Yemen-based shipping source said.

... Yemen produced a total of around 260,000 bpd of crude oil in 2010. Around 110,000 bpd of that is light crude, which is in short supply globally after Libyan output came to a virtual standstill due to a revolt there.

... In recent weeks Yemen has tried to boost fuel imports to make up for the closure of the Aden refinery.

"There are several vessels due -- two in the next coming days for diesel to be used in power stations, (and) at least one cargo of gasoline. But the thing is they're running out of fuel very quickly," the shipping source said.

A trade source said fuel shortages have meant fuel prices have soared, with a 20-liter container of petrol in bigger cities such as Aden costing 1,500 rials ($7.01) and much higher at around 7,000 rials in more remote areas.

"People are buying fuel where they can and taking it to other areas where supplies are more scarce," the source said.

While Yemen's light Marib crude output has been shut since mid-March, heavier Masila crude output and exports have so far been unaffected. ...

[bratticus]

But things in Yemen are OK, Stable, Predictable, right?

Yemeni president 'stable' after rocket attack
ABC / June 8, 2011

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh is in a stable condition in Saudi Arabia after being injured in a rocket attack, a Saudi official affirmed on Wednesday.

Mr Saleh has undergone surgery at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia for burns to 40 per cent of his body and shrapnel wounds to his chest.

"The condition of the Yemeni president is stable," the official told AFP ...

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Saudi donates 3 million barrels of crude oil to Yemen
Ya Libnan. / June 8, 2011

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has donated 3 million barrels of crude oil to impoverished southern neighbour Yemen, the state news agency Saba reported on Wednesday.

“King Abdullah has instructed to provide 3 million barrels of crude oil in donations to Yemen,” the poorest Arab country’s oil minister, Amir al-Aidarous, was quoted as saying.

A blast on the small, non-OPEC producer’s main pipeline in March, for which angry tribesmen were suspected, has stopped the flow of crude, leaving its biggest Aden refinery dry and leading to fuel shortages across the country.

With no crude flow, Yemen increased its imports of oil products , but al-Aidarous was reported as saying that cash problems had stopped shipments.

“The spot purchase of oil derivatives stopped as companies refused to sell, because the finance ministry and the central bank could not pay the amount required,” he said.

Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded on Friday when rockets struck his Sanaa place, in what officials said was an assassination attempt.

Over 200 people have been killed and thousands have fled in the past two weeks as fighting has intensified. Angry demonstrators have been demanding Saleh’s departure for five months. ...

Saudi gives Yemen 3m barrels of oil
SAPA via News24 / June 8, 2011

Sana'a - Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia has donated Yemen three million barrels of oil to help its impoverished neighbour cope with fuel shortages amid political unrest, Yemen's oil minister said on Wednesday.

Saudi King Abdullah "has instructed that three million barrels of crude oil be provided as a donation to Yemen", the minister, Amir Salem al-Aydarus, told state news agency Saba.

The move was "to support the national economy, provide the needs of Yemen's people and alleviate their suffering due to the acute shortage of petroleum products facing the country in light of the extraordinary situation Yemen is experiencing", he added.

The Saudi oil would be transported from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Yanbu to Yemen's southern port of Aden, to be refined while a pipeline linked with the eastern city of Marib is repaired.

Aydarus appealed to Marib's tribes to help to repair the pipeline, sabotaged during violence that accompanied protests raging against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is recovering in Saudi Arabia after surgery following a bomb attack.

Fuel supplies have grown scarce with the closure of a refinery after tribesmen attacked the pipeline, causing losses of about $300-400m per month.

"The direct purchase of oil derivatives has stopped after the companies that sell petroleum products on credit have halted their sales due to the inability" of Yemen to pay, said Aydarus.

Yemen normally exports 105 000 barrels per day out of about 300 000 produced.

As the Arabian Peninsula's country's political turmoil deepened, motorists have had to queue their vehicles at petrol stations for hours, while water supply shortages and power blackouts are a daily norm.

On May 8, as thousands protested against Saleh's regime, thousands others protested against fuel shortages in the Red Sea province of Hudaydah.

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Yemen gets Saudi crude as shortages spread-sources
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Saul; editing by Jason Neely / Reuters / June 16, 2011

The first shipment of Saudi crude oil donated to Yemen to help relieve widespread fuel shortages arrived at the port of Aden on Thursday, trade and shipping sources said. ...

... "Yemen coast guard boats are only carrying out occasional patrols in Aden's harbour and are not going too far out because of fuel shortages," a trade source said.

"There might be a small trickle, but Mukalla has effectively run out of fuel," another source said, referring to the southern port town.

Fuel shortages have been caused by the halt in production at Aden's 130,000-barrels-per-day refinery after a mid-March blast on Yemen's main oil pipeline, which stopped the flow of Marib crude to the processing plant.

Yemen has ramped up fuel imports of fuel but payment problems have meant shipments have not been able to discharge or arrive on time. ...

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Yemen: 'At least 15 patients' die in hospital blackout
AKI / June 20, 2011

At least 15 patients have died in a hospital in the coastal Yemeni port city of al-Hodeida because of a power blackout due to a shortage of gasoline, according to the Arab-language Al-Jazeera satellite news channel.

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Yemen losses nearly at $1bn due to pipeline blast
AME Info FZ LLC / June 22, 2011

Yemen has lost nearly $1bn in revenues since a blast cut off the country's main oil pipeline, Reuters has reported, citing an unnamed senior official. The blast cut off the supply of oil from the central Maarib province to the main export terminal at Ras Isa on the Red Sea. It also stopped work at the main refinery in Aden, where officials this week began using oil donated by Saudi Arabia to begin a restart.