Oil Minister: Coalition’s control over oil has deprived state of 75% of budget tributary
SANAA, March 27 (YPA) – Minister of Oil and Minerals, Ahmed Daress, on Saturday confirmed that the Saudi-led coalition’s control over the oil sector deprived the state of 75 percent of the budget’s tributary.
During a press conference held by the oil ministry today in the capital Sanaa, Daress said that crude oil production in 2018 amounted to 18,000,080 barrels, at an average price of Yemeni crude 72 dollars per barrel, with a total value estimated at one billion dollars.
In 2019, the coalition theft of Yemeni crude oil reached 29,692,000 barrels, at an average price of 77 dollars a barrel at that time, with a total value of 2,300,000,000 dollars, according to the oil minister.
Daress pointed out that in the year 2020, the coalition theft of Yemeni crude reached 31,620,000 barrels, at an average price of 64 dollars a barrel, with a total value amounted to 2,144,000,000 dollars.
He explained that the volume of the theft of Yemeni crude oil for the years from 2018 to 2020 reached 5,000,620,415 dollars.
The sums stolen from the sale of Yemeni oil were deposited at the National Bank in Saudi Arabia and placed at the disposal of the coalition, which spent them on its aggression and blockade on Yemen, Daress explained. He noted that that the volume of the stolen Yemeni oil was sufficient to cover the salaries of state employees.
The Oil Minister indicated that the losses of the Yemeni Gas Company during the same period exceeded more than 4,000,400,000 dollars, while the losses incurred by the Oil Exploration Authority exceeded 19 billion dollars.
He stated that more than 5 million dollars are the losses of the seismic monitoring center in Dhamar province after it was bombed by the coalition aircraft and more than 14 billion losses of the liquefied gas sector in Yemen as a result of the war and blockade.
Regarding piracy on fuel ships, the Oil Minister said that $ 22,000 is daily losses and fines as a result of the coalition’s detention of oil ships a year ago, with a total sum of $ 29 million until March 20, 2021.
He pointed out that the ships released by the coalition since the beginning of 2021 are only four ships, three of which belong to the private sector and only one ship loaded with diesel for the public sector.
YPA