Yemen: bombs target oil interests

CounterVortex

There have been two explosions near the local headquarters the Canadian Nexen oil company in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. The grenade blasts took place on April 6 and 9, and caused no casualties. Nexen began oil exploration in Sana’a in 1988 and started producing oil there in 1993. The company operates Yemen’s largest oil project and produced 71,600 barrels per day in 2007. The blasts come amid ongoing unrest in Yemen, with riot police still deployed against rioters in many towns in the south. (CanWest News Service, April 10)

See our last post on Yemen.

  1. Yemen: more attacks on oil sector
    From the New York Times, April 22:

    Oil Market Rattled by Attack on Tanker
    SEOUL, South Korea — A Japanese oil tanker was damaged Monday when it was attacked by a small boat in Middle Eastern waters off the coast of Yemen, the tanker’s owner said. Word of the attack helped to drive world oil prices to a new record.

    The tanker, the 150,053-ton Takayama, was hit by an unspecified projectile during the attack early Monday morning, said the owner, Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen. The company said none of the tanker’s 23 crew members was injured, and the ship’s movement was not impaired. It released few other details, saying the attacking boat moved away soon after opening fire.

    Japan’s coast guard said the projectile appeared to be a rocket, though information was still limited, according to local media reports.

    The company said the tanker was empty at the time of the attack. It said it was in communication with the tanker, which was still investigating the extent of the damage.

    The attack rattled the nerves of global energy traders, sending the price of benchmark light, sweet crude to a record $117.40 per barrel. Oil prices had also briefly touched $117 per barrel last week, after rebels attacked a pipeline in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer.

    The tanker came under fire about 440 kilometers, or 275 miles, east of the Yemeni port of Aden, the company said. It said the attack took place before dawn, at about 4:10 a.m. local time in Yemen. It said the tanker was en route from Ulsan, South Korea, to Saudi Arabia to pick up a load of oil.