MEOG: Oil pipeline sabotaged in Yemen

An oil pipeline in Yemen’s central Shabwa Province has been damaged following an attack by an unidentified group of gunmen. According to a Yemeni government official, explosives were detonated on December 3, causing substantial damage to the pipeline as well as a major oil spill.

The Yemeni official, who was quoted by Chinese news outlet Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said that the identity of the attackers and their motive are not yet known.

The currently inoperable pipeline runs from the Jannah oilfield in Block 5 to crude storage facilities at Al-Alam in the province’s Jardan district, from which it is piped into the Marib central processing facilities in the nearby Block 18, before onward piping to the Ras Isa oil terminal. Block 5, which also includes the larger Al Nasr, Dhahab and Halewah fields, is operated by Jannah Hunt Oil Co. (JHOC), a subsidiary of Singapore-based WellTech Energy.

According to JHOC, Block 5 reached a peak oil production level of 70,000 barrels per day in 2000, then ran at more or less a plateau of 38,000 bpd for roughly a decade. Data provided by the company shows that production has been interrupted several times in recent years, presumably owing to the ongoing conflict in the country.