Austrian company explores oil in Shabwa, but Is the “gas crisis” a warning of those price hikes? [Archives:2004/785/Business & Economy]

Mahyoub Al-Kamaly
The Austrian group OMV has lately signed with Yemen an understanding memorandum according to which the company pledged to invest $14 million for excavation of oil in the governorate of Shabwa.
The agreement stipulates that the company would spend the money during two phases of oil exploration in sector No. 2 in the governorate of Shabwa.
Yemen seeks to intensify its signing of oil agreements on explorations and partnership in production with other companies in order to increase its oil production which is currently estimated at around 500,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, the vice-president of the republic Abdeh Rabu Mansour Hadi has personally followed up the development of liquefied gas crisis witnessed lately in Sana'a and Shabwa during the first week of Ramadan, saying that Yemen possesses a great strategic reserve of gas and oil.
He also warned against traders manipulation of prices of gas and gave directives for setting up a working team to follow up the issue and at the same time ordered that licenses of gas dealers who increase prices of gas should be withdrawn from them.
Dr Rashid Saleh Ba Raba'a, the minister of oil and minerals, has presented explanations regarding the meeting of local consumption and facing the increasing demand for gas by hundreds of thousands, as it is used increasingly by cooks during the month of Ramadan.
While the ministry of oil mentioned that there was an abundant strategic reserve of gas and oil, the opposition has been skeptical of the state's statement about it.
The vice-president gave directives to the leadership of the ministry of oil and minerals to use products of Aden refinery for local consumption as a measure for alleviating the crisis.
Sources of the opposition have considered that “hiding” the gas product as a prelude for an approaching implementation of a new price dose against the people. The parliament had earlier refused to accept such a dose and demanded and expressed its outright refusal of the dose.
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