Saudi-backed government sells oil field in Yemen’s Shabwa to UAE

SANAA, May 31 (YPA) – The self-proclaimed Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, has sold an oil field in the southeastern province of Shabwa to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the main partner in the Saudi-led war against Yemen, media sources reported on Monday.

On Sunday, the “Yemeni News” website reported that the Ministry of Oil in the government of Maeen Abdulmalik confirmed the sale of an important “oil sector” in Shabwa.

The ministry said, in a statement, that the “fifth sector” was handed over to a local company affiliated with the ministry. However, the name of the company was not mentioned.

This comes while previous reports stated that the ministry sold an important oil field to a “fake company based in Jebel Ali Port” in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which revealed how the UAE benefits from its participation in the Yemen war.

The website pointed out that the ministry’s statement also came a day after the Emirati-backed Giants Brigade assumed responsibility for securing the oil field, which produces tens of thousands of barrels of oil per day.

Yemeni media added that activists considered the ministry’s statement an attempt to “stave off the scandal of selling the facility and camouflaging the deal” in which the oil minister and Maeen received huge sums.

YPA