Oil Minister: $ 45 B losses in oil sector due to aggression & blockade

Minister of Oil and Minerals Ahmed Dares has confirmed the direct and indirect losses in the oil, gas and minerals sector due to the US-Saudi aggression and blockade exceeded $ 45,483,000,000. In a press conference, the Minister said the Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority and Yemen LNG Company are among the oil installations that suffered major damage and economic losses due to the aggression over period of six years. He pointed out the losses also included a number of facilities, including the oil and gas companies and their subsidiaries, the Oil and Mineral Investments Company, the Oil Refineries Company (Marib Refineries), the General Oil and Gas Corporation as well as the Geological Survey and Mineral Resources Authority, the Seismic Monitoring Center, the Petroleum Training Center, and the Ministry’s General Office. The Minister clarified the aggression’s control on the oil sector deprived the state of 75 percent of the resources that used to supply the public treasury with hard currencies. He stated Yemen’s production of crude oil in 2018 exceeded 18 million barrels, with a value of one billion dollars, indicating the total theft of Yemeni crude oil in 2019 amounted to 29, 692,000 barrels, with a total of $ 2,300,000,000. In 2020, the aggression coalition theft of Yemeni crude oil reached 31, 620,000 barrels with a total of $ 2,24,000,000. Minister Dares stated the total value of Yemeni crude oil stolen by the aggression coalition from 2018 – 2020 reached $ 5,620,000,000 which are huge sums that were sufficient to cover the salaries of state employees, as those amounts were supplied to the National Bank in Saudi Arabia and under the actions of the aggression coalition which uses it in the siege of the Yemeni people. He stressed the plunder of Yemen’s oil and gas resources by the aggression’s coalition countries is still in force until the moment, and the aggression is practicing political blackmail by detaining oil derivative ships which doubles the suffering of citizens due to the continuing aggression and blockade. Dares pointed out the Yemeni people incur heavy daily losses and financial penalties due to the continuing acts of maritime piracy and the detention of fuel ships which is estimated at about $ 22,000 per day, with a total of $ 29, 000,000 until March 20. He pointed out the ships that were released by the aggression since the beginning of the year 2021 are four ships, three of which are for the private sector and only one diesel for the public sector. He indicated these ships do not cover the increasing need of oil to cover the service and vital sectors to ensure the continued provision of necessary services to citizens since the monthly need of oil derivatives in the free provinces amounts to 129,000 tons of diesel and 114,000 tons of gasoline. The Oil minister said the US-Saudi aggression coalition released in 2020 only 45 percent of the actual need of oil derivatives for the areas under the authority of the Supreme Political Council. He stated the aggression blockade of the port of Hodeida caused an increase in transportation and transportation costs, in addition to what the mercenaries had done to raise gas prices by about a thousand riyals, which is an additional cost that a citizen bears. According to the Ministry, the aggression’s detention period of oil derivative ships exceeded 1500 days, with total fines exceeding $ 29 million. The Minister renewed the demand of the United Nations and the international community to work for the release of the detained fuel ships to provide fuel for the vital and service sectors. He called for the necessity of neutralizing fuel ships and not exploiting them on the political side, considering that the arrival of oil derivatives is a human and legal entitlement that cannot be used in aspects of extortion by the aggression.