Yemen’s main oil pipeline flows halted over blastJanuary 10, 2013 - 16:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Flows of oil through Yemen's main crude export pipeline have stopped again after it was blown up by unknown attackers on Thursday, January 10 morning, government and oil industry officials said, according to Reuters. Yemen resumed oil pumping on December 31 at a rate of around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the latest repairs to a pipeline which used to carry around 110,000 bpd of Marib light crude an export terminal on the Red Sea before a spate of attacks began in 2011. Just 10 days after flows restarted, unknown attackers blew up the pipeline again by placing a roadside bomb near the line in Serwah area in the central Maarib province, a government security official said. "The bombing of the pipeline made us stop the crude pumping from the fields to the export terminal," an oil ministry official told Reuters. Yemen's oil and gas pipelines have repeatedly been sabotaged by insurgents or angry tribesmen since anti-government protests created a power vacuum in 2011, causing fuel shortages and slashing export earnings for the impoverished country. Yemen's stability is a priority for the United States and its Gulf Arab allies because of its strategic position next to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia and shipping lanes, and because it is home to one of the most active wings of al Qaeda. A long closure of the line in 2011 forced the country's largest refinery at Aden to shut, leaving the small producer dependent on fuel donations from Saudi Arabia and imports. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |