Yemeni authorities step up protection of Shabwah oil companies
Yemeni authorities have stepped up security protection for oil companies and sectors in Shabwah province to enforce security and confront any terrorist or subversive elements.
Shabwah Governor Awad AL-Awlaki on Monday ordered additional security for the province’s surface-to-surface oil areas and facilities, the second largest oil producer in the country.
Shabwah (south) recently witnessed a military rebellion by a number of Brotherhood military and security leaders after the commander of the special forces in the province, Abd Rabbu Laqab, was dismissed.
This was also preceded by a series of sabotage and terrorist attacks on oil pipelines, which raised the risk for oil companies.
In a meeting with a delegation of oil companies headed by Mohsen Saleh, director general of the Sector 4 oil sector, AL-Awlaki assured residents of “the establishment of security and stability in the oil sectors and the protection of sovereign facilities” in Shabwah province.
The meeting discussed the requirements of the Yemeni Oil Investments Company and the Austrian OMV Company, and a detailed explanation of the nature of pumping and exports.
The Yemeni official also called for overcoming the difficulties of oil companies to contribute to the development and prosperity of the national economy.
The governor of Shabwah pledged to increase security protection at oil facilities, stressing the importance of securing the oil and gas pipelines to counter any subversive or terrorist elements.
Two days ago, the minister’s son vowed to take firm military measures to secure sovereign oil facilities if the Brotherhood’s rebel forces take advantage of the task of protecting oil companies.
Over the past years, the oilfields were protected by pro-Brotherhood forces, before the forces of the southern giants, who took over the protection duties of the Ganga Hunt Company, entered Sector 5 oil field in Usaylan Directorate, northwest of the province, which consists of three oilfields.
On Monday, a military source said that units from the 1st Brigade of the Giants, the major battle brigade of the giants, arrived in the city of Ataq, days after putting down a military rebellion of the Brotherhood in the province overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Shabwah is the second oil producer after Hadhramaut to have a gas export terminal and natural gas facility, and its daily oil production before the Houthi militia’s coup in late 2015 was around 50,000 barrels per day.
“Of the 16 oil and exploration sectors in Shabwah, only two operate under the Houthi war: the S2-Aqilah sector, which is managed by OMV, and the Ayad area by the Yemeni government’s Petroleum and Mineral Investments Company, according to Yemeni reports.”
The Presidential Command Council is leading a major effort to resume production in Sector 5 in Shabwah after years of stagnation, with production reaching 30,000 barrels per day. It is scheduled to be operated by Petro Masila in accordance with its agreement with the Yemeni Ministry of Oil in November 2012.
