Yemen Plans Oil Export Restart With 1.7 Million Barrels Ready as Security Risks Threaten 60,000 bpd Goal
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 22
Yemen Plans Oil Export Restart With 1.7 Million Barrels Ready as Security Risks Threaten 60,000 bpd Goal
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 22
Summary
July 20 was set as the start date for Yemen’s oil export resumption, with Oil Minister Mohammed Bamqaa saying 1.7 million barrels are ready and initial production should reach about 60,000 bpd.
That target may translate into only about 40,000 bpd for export because domestic refineries and power plants consume roughly 20,000 bpd, while some fields, pipelines and pumping stations still need maintenance after the late-2022 halt.
Houthi attacks on Hadramout and Shabwa export ports in 2022 still cloud the restart, as shipping, insurance and buyers need confidence that tankers and terminals will not be hit again.
Oil exports are critical because Yemen’s output had fallen to 19,000 bpd in 2024 from a peak near 439,000 bpd, deepening a foreign-currency shortage, weakening the rial and straining basic services.
The restart also faces political and economic limits: the STC has rejected revenue-sharing with Houthi areas, and analysts say sporadic shipments alone will not resolve Yemen’s wider split economy and fiscal crisis.