Yemen has invited foreign firms to bid for exploration rights for five oil blocks around the country, according to the country’s oil minister
Ahmed Dares, the new oil and minerals minister, was quoted by state news agency Saba Net as saying that the auction would help boost Yemen’s oil output and help attract foreign investment.
Dares said that blocks 6, 15, 84, 85 and 102, which are located in the al-Saba'ateen basin, the Say'un-Masila basin, and the basin of Mukalla-Sayhoot, will be auctioned off.
“Increasing oil production and reserves through expanding exploration blocks… is a top priority for Yemen at the moment,” Dares was quoted as saying.
Yemen's oil reserves are located mainly in two areas, the Marib-Jawf basin in the north, and Say’un-Masila basin in the south. The government estimates the Masila basin holds about 84 per cent of the national total.
Yemen is the world's 32nd biggest oil exporter. It had proven oil reserves of around 2.7bn barrels at the end of 2011, equal to just 0.2 per cent of global reserves, according to the BP Statistical Review.
