Newsyemen reveals the scandal: There is no oil in the Safer Reservoir .. The Houthis sold it
English - Tuesday 06 October 2020 الساعة 10:35 am
Aden, Newsyemen, Exclusive:
Sources in the Ministry of Oil and Minerals in Sana'a, which is controlled by the Houthi militia, revealed that the floating Safer reservoir in the Red Sea at Ras Issa oil port, which is under the control of the militia, has been free of crude oil, for more than a year.
The source - who requested anonymity for fear of al-Houthi - explained to "NewsYemen" that the Houthi militia unloaded a tanker of crude oil for small ships in batches and re-exported it from the port of Hodeidah under its control, via ships that transport oil derivatives.
The Houthi militia, Iran's side in Yemen, still controls Ras Issa oil port, and two trading ports: Hodeidah and Salif, in Hodeidah governorate, and collects their revenues, controls relief and imports, and is active through them in smuggling operations, receiving Iranian weapons, and platforms to attack the shipping line International Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The source said that the Houthi militia unloaded the oil from the Safer ship, sold it and collected its price, with the help of Iranian companies that took on the task of selling oil and supplying its revenues to the Houthi militia, in cash and oil derivatives.
Based on oil prices at the end of 2019 at about $ 71 a barrel, the value of the shipment loaded on board the floating ship one million and 140 thousand barrels of Ma'rib light crude could reach more than 80 million and 940 thousand dollars, equivalent to the exchange rate at that time 48 billion and 564 million riyals.
The belief that more than a million crude oil has been inside the Safer ship for more than five and a half years, and without maintenance, has been a terrifying concern of oil leakage or ship explosion, at the local, regional and international levels, based on the data of the Safer Company for Government Petroleum Operations.
The Safer Reservoir also gave the Houthi militia a negotiating status and a file that it used politically and economically that embodied its position as a de-facto power and authority, and imposed its conditions as legitimacy on the ground, and through it veiled threats were sent in many negotiating positions and military confrontations.
During the last period, the Houthi militia deliberately leaked pictures from inside the "Safer" ship about the start of a water leak into the engine room, about repairing the site of the leak by sending a Houthi team, and finally about the start of the oil leak, to the media.
The Safar Reservoir lie also revealed the unreality of the reports of United Nations organizations and agencies, and their limited information, which they get from leaked media sources, which have spoken several times that the repairs that the Houthi team made to the ship and prevent water leakage are not guaranteed and temporary.
According to the source, the Houthi militia falsely eluded the Yemeni people and the world, with the dangers of oil leakage from the Safer ship, to distract them from issues of violations, the continuation of the coup and the opening of other fronts, and the continued obsession with fear of an environmental and economic disaster.
The Houthi militia has manipulated the feelings of the Yemenis and the countries bordering the Red Sea due to the fear of oil spills, and has been eluding the United Nations team and preventing it from accessing the assessment and maintenance of the reservoir for years, and each time it creates a new excuse, puts impossible conditions, and links it to other issues.
According to observers, the Houthi militia’s manipulation and elusiveness of the "Safer" reservoir file reflects its policy and dealings, and its disdain for the Yemenis and the international community, on all issues and agreements. It is a militia that relies on cunning, breach of covenant, lies, corruption, and deception.
