Yemen oil facilities hit by bomb attacks
17 December 2012
Terrorists in Yemen have blown up a section of a gas pipeline in the al-Zahira area of the southern province of Shabwa. Energy operator Yemen LNG said in a statement issued December 16 that the explosion was carried out during the late hours of the previous night.
“Yemen LNG confirms the sabotage of the 38-inch gas pipeline that links the block 18 to the Balhaf terminal on the Gulf of Aden,” the statement said without giving details on possible casualties.
The attackers “placed an explosive charge at pipeline level” and caused a shutdown, a Yemeni official said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Canada's Calvalley Petroleum shut an oil well in south-eastern Yemen after an explosion targeting its facilities damaged the well head.
An explosive device went off outside an oil well on December 13 in Hadramout province, UAE-based Gulf News reported. Unidentified men planted three bombs near an oil well but two were defused, the report said.
Calvalley said the targeted well in the Al Roidhat field was producing about 100 barrels of oil per day and production from other wells was not affected.
The damaged well will be put back on production after repairs are completed, the company said.
Calvalley's principal asset is its 50% working interest in Block 9 in the Sayun-Masila Basin in Yemen.
Yemen's oil exports have been halted by repeated attacks on its pipelines, with a recent shutdown since November 12. Al Qaeda insurgents ambushed an army patrol inspecting a pipeline in Maarib province on December 8, killing 17 soldiers, according to Reuters.
Yemen’s oil and gas pipelines have been repeatedly sabotaged in recent months. Armed groups targeted gas pipelines feeding the Balhaf terminal in October, September, August, May and March this year.
Yemen’s economy depends on oil and gas production, with petroleum exports accounting for more than 60% of the country’s budget.