Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 3 -- Yemen plans to increase its oil production to 500,000 b/d by 2010 from the current 317,000 b/d, according to the country's oil minister, Khaled Bahah.
"The current oil production decreased from 438,000 b/d in 2002 to 317,000 b/d in 2007," he said, adding that his country is looking to increase production by selling new licenses as well as by improving output at existing sites.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, Yemen's total oil production in 2006 was about 380,000 b/d, down from 400,000 b/d in 2005.
Citing Yemen's Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority (PEPA), EIA said the decrease is due to declining production in Masila and Marib, the country's two largest basins.
EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook currently projects oil production of 360,000 b/d for 2007 and 350,000 b/d in 2008.
Minister Bahah's upbeat remarks coincided with statements by Austria's OMV AG that it plans to drill new 40 oil wells by 2010 in Yemen's S2 block (Al Uqlah) in the Armah district of Shabwa governorate.
OMV aims to increase its production to more than 30,000 b/d, said the firm's in-country director during a meeting with Shabwa Gov. Mohammed Shamlan.
Last year, OMV AG announced that it began production of 1,000 b/d of oil from its Kharwah-1 well on Block S2 and that it plans to deliver 11,000 b/d of oil by 2008 (OGJ, Jan. 8, 2007, Newsletter).
Interest holders in Block S2 are OMV (Yemen Block S2) Exploration GMBH 44%, Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Corp. 37.5%, Yemen General Corp. for Oil & Gas 12.5%, and Yemen Resources Ltd. 6%.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
