After Yemen and Saudi Arabia ratified a long-awaited border agreement in June, Sana’a has raised the prospect of offering up lucrative exploration acreage based on new territory it will be receiving.
However, diplomatic and Western oil company sources believe that Yemen is jumping the gun, as demarcation of the 1,500 km border between the two countries could take months if not years. Nor are they entirely convinced that the Saudis would have agreed to new border delineation if oil-rich land were involved.
Although Yemen may have to play a waiting game to see new acreage, it is not proving idle in attempting to expand its crude capacity. The Yemeni parliament on August 21st authorized a production-sharing agreement for Sabatain Block 20, involving Houston-based Adair, Occidental and a local Yemeni firm
Source:OilNavigator.
