Amidst the complete absence of the Yemeni government, a new sale deal was concluded for the oil and gas fields in Shabwa
English - Tuesday 21 February 2023 الساعة 02:43 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:
Energy Intelligence, the international website specialized in leading energy and oil markets, revealed a new sale that affected the oil and gas sectors in Shabwa Governorate, southeastern Yemen.
The site indicated in a report - translated by "Newsyemen" - that the Canadian company Zenith Energy acquired the oil and gas sectors from the Austrian company OMV in Yemen, and sold the majority of the shares purchased from the Austrian company in favor of a Korean company.
The site quoted a statement by Western sources that the Canadian company Zenith Energy, which acquired the assets of OMV in Shabwa several months ago, sold the majority of its stake to Hong Kong-based Hingbo Industries.
The international website confirmed that the departure of the Austrian OMV company from Shabwa marked the end of an era of Western oil investment in Yemen dating back to the early eighties, explaining that the country's volatile situation contributed to the flight of foreign investors abroad.
The Austrian company OMV - one of the most important companies working in the field of energy - was managing the Al-Uqla oil field, consisting of sectors (S2, 3 and 70) in the Shabwa governorate in the southeast of the country on the Arabian Sea, which is under the control of the Yemeni government.
The field produced about 15,000 barrels per day before the futile Houthi war in the country. After the liberation of Shabwa, production returned in January 2022 at 6,000 barrels.
In January 2023, an undisclosed sale agreement was revealed between Austria's OMV in Yemen and Canada's Zenith Energy, with the latter acquiring the Uqla block as well as two smaller blocks containing an estimated 571 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas. And a sale deal amounted to about 21.6 million dollars.
Andrea Cattaneo, CEO of Zenith Energy, confirmed the acquisition of the Austrian company's oil sector assets in Shabwa Governorate.
Yemeni oil is suspended
According to the report of the Energy Intelligence, the international energy website, Yemeni crude oil exports will remain suspended, and that the return of production and export again depends on the ongoing political talks to end the war in Yemen.
Late last year, the Hadramout and Shabwa oil ports were subjected to Houthi terrorist attacks via drones that targeted the ports and oil tankers that were stationed there. and oil loading terminals at Bir Ali and Al Shihr, including an attack that occurred while loading an oil tanker in the Al Shihr oil fields.
The website quoted a source in the state-owned oil company, PetroMasila, as saying, "The damage is not serious." "But they do not want to start exporting again for fear of another attack (...) They are waiting for any political agreement with the Houthis," he added.
The Shihr oil field in Hadramout was exporting just under 35,000 barrels per day, while the Bir Ali field was exporting less than 10,000 barrels per day.
The source explained that "the oil fields in Hadramout still produce about 7,500 barrels per day, a quantity of which goes to two refineries and the other is supplied to power stations in the region."
And a Western security source indicates that some production continues in the Shabwa fields.
Government absence
The process of selling oil and gas fields in Shabwa and transferring them from the Austrian company OMV, to the Canadian company Zenith Energy and now to the Chinese company Hingbo Industries comes in light of the complete absence of the Yemeni government and the Ministry of Oil and Minerals, which announced in a previous statement their refusal to sell.
The Yemeni Ministry of Oil confirmed, in a previous statement after the Dutch Zenith Energy announced its acquisition of the oil sectors in Shabwa from the Austrian company OMV, that it was illegal and contrary to the truth. The Yemeni Ministry announced its refusal to complete the deal between the two companies, and that it is still studying the documents submitted by OMV regarding the sale of its assets in the oil sectors in Shabwa Governorate.
The Ministry confirmed at the time that no approval or indication was given to accept the Dutch company, holding OMV and Zenith legally responsible for that.
However, correspondence conducted by the editor of "Newsyemen" revealed an agreement between the Austrian and Dutch companies to sell the oil sectors in Shabwa. Despite the objection of the government side in Yemen.
The Yemeni government or the Yemeni Ministry of Oil did not issue any new comments or statements about the completion of the first sale and the new deal between the Dutch company and the Chinese company.
