Block S-1 (2,250 Bopd) shut-in after October 8, 2011
Marib Pipeline Repaired, Unclear When Pumping Will Resume
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Yemen Post Staff
The technical teams completed on Sunday the repair to the Marib oil pipeline in the Al Shabwan area, Marib, which was the last within the week-long repair work launched under tight security measures, the interior ministry reported.
Tribesmen continued to disrupt the repair work in the past few weeks, but the government dispatched taskforces to protect the technical teams and clashes were reported with saboteurs.
The teams have returned to Sanaa after completing all repairs to the pipeline, which was shut down in October following successive attacks, the ministry said.
Hisham Sharaf, the minister for oil and minerals, told Saba last week pumping crude would resume before the month of fasting, but the ministry did not report today when that will happen.
The Marib pipeline carries about 110,000 barrels a day from Marib and Shabwa to the Ras Isa terminal in the Red Sea. It was repeatedly attacked this year and last year and the authorities said its shutdown has cost the country about $4 billion.
Separately, Sharaf met with the French ambassador to Yemen Frank Jules and discussed ways to expand the Yemeni-French cooperation in the oil and gas sector, Saba reported.
The two also discussed the plans of the French firms to develop their oil and gas exploration and production operations in Yemen as well as the Yemeni plans to attract more foreign investments into the country.
Yemen Post Staff
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Source: Yemen Post Newspaper