Yemen Oil And Gas Profile
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Introduction
- Yemen is a relatively small oil and natural gas producer. However, it is important to the global oil trade because of its strategic location at the tip of the Arabian peninsula on the Bab el-Mandab, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, through which an estimated 3.5 million barrels of oil passed daily in 2010. Disruption to shipping in the Bab el-Mandab could prevent tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden from reaching the Suez Canal/Sumed pipeline complex, requiring a costly diversion around the southern tip of Africa to reach western markets.
History
- 1984 - Hunt Oil Company announced the first commercial discovery of oil in Yemen
- 1986 - The production and export of the first oil shipment was executed
- 1996 - The Yemen general oil & gas corporation was established
- 2009 - Yemen LNG completed the construction of Train 1 and started export of LNG.
Regulation
- The Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority (PEPA) provides the oil investors with all the support, any assessment help, and coordinate operation activates.
- PEPA drives and manages all concessions promotion activates in Yemen. PEPA has conducted three major international and successful concession license rounds.
- Yemen relies heavily on production-sharing agreements (PSAs) with foreign companies, which usually include 20-year concessions for production activities. In 2013, Yemen's government announced plans to transfer any expiring exploration licenses to state-owned companies.
Upstream
- In 2011, Yemen's total oil production averaged about 170,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), down from 259,000 bbl/d estimated for 2010. Production has been declining steadily since reaching a peak of 440,000 bbl/d in 2001 due to a lack of sufficient new investment in exploration and inadequate maintenance of facilities.
- Most of Yemen's production is from the Marib-Jawf area in central Yemen and near the Masila area in the east, with production coming from just 13 of the country's 105 exploration blocks.
- Since 2001, the country's most productive field has been the Tawila field, which averaged nearly 90,000 bbl/d in 2003 but has since declined along with many of the country's other large fields.
Reserves
- According to the Oil & Gas Journal, Yemen had proved reserves of oil totaling 3 billion barrels as of January 2014
- As of January 2014, Yemen held 16.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proved natural gas reserves according to the Oil & Gas Journal
- One of the larger natural gas deposits in Yemen is in the hydrocarbon-rich Marib-Jawf area, where there may be 18 Tcf in recoverable volumes of natural gas, according to Yemen's government.
Active Companies
- Major international oil companies in Yemen include Total (which operates the Yemen LNG facility in addition to being active in several exploration blocks), Occidental Petroleum Corporation, and Nexen, a subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.
Crude Oils
- Yemen has two primary crude streams, the light and sweet Marib stream and the medium-gravity and more sulfur-rich Masila stream
Midstream
- The Marib Oil Pipeline is the main pipeline in the country, transporting crude from the Marib Oil Field to a terminal on the Red Sea
- The Yemen Marib Gas Pipeline carries gas to the LNG terminal
LNG
- In 2009, the Yemen Lng Terminal was commissioned and LNG exports began. Located in Balhaf, Gulf of Aden, the 6.7 Million tons per annum facility is owned by a consortium including Total with Korean and Yemeni partners
Downstream
- Yemen has two refineries, the 150,000 bpd Aden Refinery and the 10,000 bpd Marib Refinery
- The Aden Refinery is old , simple and only able to process imported crude. There are plans to upgrade the refinery.
Relevant Links
- Ministry of Oil and Minerals (MOM)
- Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority (PEPA)
- The Yemen general oil & gas corporation
- Google Earth map of Yemen oil and gas infrastructure
page revision: 8, last edited: 18 May 2015 06:04