28 June 2010
The Ministry of Oil announced Sunday a new fourth oil sector. The minister of Oil, Ameer al-Aydarous, said that the new four oil sectors will include a marine sector across the costs of the Red Sea, and that they include a new generation of agreements including making use of gas in addition to making use of the four blocks and the blocks that follow.
Al-Aydarous, during meeting on Sunday a group of representatives of the oil companies working in Yemen, said that the blocks being subjected to the competition are 55,80,86, and 88, which are promising ones and have further information at the oil ministry.
About 50 new oil blocks are open to competition and will be announced during the coming days through direct negotiation, al-Aydarous said.
The Minister defined a period of one month as a maximum for firms wishing to engage in competition in these blocks to submit a bid in envelopes sealed with red wax.
The minister said that Yemen is bound to prevent the burning of gas during the operations associated with oil production or at least it will only allow the minimum rate of burning gas in order to be exploited in other areas and to preserve the wealth and the environment.
The minister said that the government set the conditions that must be met in any company that enters the competition for the new sectors. The conditions are as follow:
Loyalty of Financial, the right legal status, the ability to output and employment. Head of oil exploration and production, Nasr al-Homaidi, said the authority is committed to provide free of charge information about those blocks to all the interested companies and that it will announce other new blocks in the short period to come.
Regarding the gas, al-Aydarous said that the existence of the conventions does not mean the abolition of the right of any party to modify, and that many States had reviewed the agreements of such kind due to unfairness to one of the parties.
He said that the government is considering legal means to review the prices of liquefied natural gas and that the issue has been discussed with the importing Korean company in an official meeting of Yemeni and Korean foreign ministers with the Korean Ambassador in Sana'a.
Al-Aydarous said that gas is priced according to the value of forty dollars for oil but now transcended the boundaries of the eighty dollars.
The minister hoped to get a response from the Korean side and not accept a prejudice against any of the parties, especially that the importing Korean company of gas is the owner company at the same time, which means they are beneficiaries.
Media sources quoted Francois Raven, director of the Yemen LNG, as saying,"It's a long-term contracts and binding, and will remain respected by all."
He added that the prices provided by the contracts are equal to the market prices, but refused to give details about the prices, pointing to the confidentiality of the agreements.
Center for Studies and Economic Media welcomed the guidance of the President to reconsider the Convention of the sale of Yemeni gas, which was sold to the Korean market at less than 80% of world prices for a period of twenty years to come.
The center demanded investigation with the parties that passed the deal, despite warnings from some members of Parliament and many economists then.
The center received confirmed information that per million BTU of Yemeni gas has been sold with 3.12 dollars for Korean Kogas Co. for twenty years, while the same company bought from Indonesia for 12 dollars.
The Center called on the Yemeni parliament to form a committee to investigate the matter and to develop mechanisms to press for re-consideration of the Convention , and that there is prejudice to the Convention against Yemen and the wealth of future generations.
the project of exporting the Yemeni liquefied gas through the port of Balhaf Shabwa is managed by a consortium led by Total of France by 39.62% ,US Hunt Oil with17.22%, SK Korean Foundation with 9.55%, Kogas Korea 6%, Korean Hyundai with 5.88%, while the Yemeni government represented by Yemen Gas Company contributed with 16.73%, and the General Authority for Social Insurance and Pensions with5%.
during a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi and Minister of Oil and Minerals with the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea, the Yemeni government officially informed South Korea Wednesday to reconsider the price of Yemeni liquefied gas in proportion to the significant rise in the price of gas in the global market.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has directed the government over the cabinet meeting Tuesday to review as soon as possible the Convention on the sale of Yemen LNG source through the port of Balhaf Shabwa and to cope with the changes of gas prices in the global market and for the achievement of national interest.
The Ministry of Oil announced Sunday a new fourth oil sector. The minister of Oil, Ameer al-Aydarous, said that the new four oil sectors will include a marine sector across the costs of the Red Sea, and that they include a new generation of agreements including making use of gas in addition to making use of the four blocks and the blocks that follow.
Al-Aydarous, during meeting on Sunday a group of representatives of the oil companies working in Yemen, said that the blocks being subjected to the competition are 55,80,86, and 88, which are promising ones and have further information at the oil ministry.
About 50 new oil blocks are open to competition and will be announced during the coming days through direct negotiation, al-Aydarous said.
The Minister defined a period of one month as a maximum for firms wishing to engage in competition in these blocks to submit a bid in envelopes sealed with red wax.
The minister said that Yemen is bound to prevent the burning of gas during the operations associated with oil production or at least it will only allow the minimum rate of burning gas in order to be exploited in other areas and to preserve the wealth and the environment.
The minister said that the government set the conditions that must be met in any company that enters the competition for the new sectors. The conditions are as follow:
Loyalty of Financial, the right legal status, the ability to output and employment. Head of oil exploration and production, Nasr al-Homaidi, said the authority is committed to provide free of charge information about those blocks to all the interested companies and that it will announce other new blocks in the short period to come.
Regarding the gas, al-Aydarous said that the existence of the conventions does not mean the abolition of the right of any party to modify, and that many States had reviewed the agreements of such kind due to unfairness to one of the parties.
He said that the government is considering legal means to review the prices of liquefied natural gas and that the issue has been discussed with the importing Korean company in an official meeting of Yemeni and Korean foreign ministers with the Korean Ambassador in Sana'a.
Al-Aydarous said that gas is priced according to the value of forty dollars for oil but now transcended the boundaries of the eighty dollars.
The minister hoped to get a response from the Korean side and not accept a prejudice against any of the parties, especially that the importing Korean company of gas is the owner company at the same time, which means they are beneficiaries.
Media sources quoted Francois Raven, director of the Yemen LNG, as saying,"It's a long-term contracts and binding, and will remain respected by all."
He added that the prices provided by the contracts are equal to the market prices, but refused to give details about the prices, pointing to the confidentiality of the agreements.
Center for Studies and Economic Media welcomed the guidance of the President to reconsider the Convention of the sale of Yemeni gas, which was sold to the Korean market at less than 80% of world prices for a period of twenty years to come.
The center demanded investigation with the parties that passed the deal, despite warnings from some members of Parliament and many economists then.
The center received confirmed information that per million BTU of Yemeni gas has been sold with 3.12 dollars for Korean Kogas Co. for twenty years, while the same company bought from Indonesia for 12 dollars.
The Center called on the Yemeni parliament to form a committee to investigate the matter and to develop mechanisms to press for re-consideration of the Convention , and that there is prejudice to the Convention against Yemen and the wealth of future generations.
the project of exporting the Yemeni liquefied gas through the port of Balhaf Shabwa is managed by a consortium led by Total of France by 39.62% ,US Hunt Oil with17.22%, SK Korean Foundation with 9.55%, Kogas Korea 6%, Korean Hyundai with 5.88%, while the Yemeni government represented by Yemen Gas Company contributed with 16.73%, and the General Authority for Social Insurance and Pensions with5%.
during a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi and Minister of Oil and Minerals with the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea, the Yemeni government officially informed South Korea Wednesday to reconsider the price of Yemeni liquefied gas in proportion to the significant rise in the price of gas in the global market.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has directed the government over the cabinet meeting Tuesday to review as soon as possible the Convention on the sale of Yemen LNG source through the port of Balhaf Shabwa and to cope with the changes of gas prices in the global market and for the achievement of national interest.
By Abdul-Aziz Oudah & Shuaib M. al-Mosawa
© Yemen Observer 2010
