Page 10 - MEOG Week 22 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

Companies relaunch Yemen operations

YEMEN YEMEN’S Minister of Oil and Minerals (MOM) Baaboud added: “In this context, we have
this week said that IOCs have resumed their re-activated the Petroleum Exploration and
operations in the country as they seek to ramp Production Authority (PEPA) in its new head-
up to pre-war production levels. quarters in the temporary capital, Aden. The
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdul Salam Authority represents the institutional frame-
Baaboud said that five international compa- work concerned with the supervision and tech-
nies had relaunched activities in the country, nical monitoring of operating oil companies.”
including oilfield specialists Baker Hughes and Meanwhile, the minister noted that the MOM
Schlumberger as well as oil producers OMV of has “made great efforts to restore oil production
Austria and Canada’s Calvalley Petroleum. in the different blocks”, noting that OMV and
Baaboud said that a 3D seismic survey had Calvalley had resumed operations at Block S1 in
been carried out over an area of 269 square km Al-Uqlah and Block 9 respectively.
in Block 9, with exploration wells also drilled However, in June 2019, Australia’s Petsec
there in recent months, marking the first explor- Energy said that it was preparing for the restart
atory drilling since the outbreak of civil conflict of output and that work had commenced on an
in 2015. oil transit pipeline ahead of completion by the
Oil production peaked at 441,000 barrels per end of the year.
day in 2001 but had fallen to just 16,000 bpd in It also noted that OMV had “maintained
2018 as IOC put their operations under force oil production [of] the order of 14,000 [bpd]
majeure. since April 2018 in the neighbouring Block S-2
Baaboud told Al-Awsat that production from its Habban oilfield (350mn barrels)”, with
was averaging 55,000 bpd and noted that work shipments of 500,000 barrels made every “1 to
is ongoing to resume production at Block 5 for 2 months”.
export through a new pipeline. This will add The Austrian firm’s own results showed that
roughly 20,000-25,000 bpd during the early production in Yemen had resumed in 2Q18 at
production phase. 2,000 bpd. During Q1 this year, output from its
He said: “The government is deploying Yemeni assets averaged 3,000 bpd, down from
exceptional efforts to face many of the challenges 4,000 bpd during 2020.
produced by the coup. As oil is one of the most Baaboud described the resumption of activ-
important contributors to our national econ- ities by Baker Hughes and Schlumberger as
omy, the Ministry of Oil and Minerals is work- “an important indication that the recovery has
ing according to clear plans based on a strategic already begun for this important vital sector”.
vision, the most important pillar of which was He added that local firms had also resumed
the completion of the institutional building of their activities, including Safer Co. in Block 18 in
the ministry and its units.” Maarib and PetroMasila in Hadramout.™

Yemen’s Block 9
concession.

Source: Calvalley Petroleum

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 02•June•2021