OMV’s decision confirms continuation of oil smuggling from Yemen

SHABWA, Sept. 05 (YPA) -The Austrian company OMV operating in the Al-Uqlah oil field has taken a decision to lay off 200 employees as of the beginning of next year following the suspension of oil exports, well-informed sources in Yemen’s southeastern province of Shabwa reported on Teusday.

The company said it was unable to generate any revenue from its activities in the S-Two sector, due to the total halt of oil exports and sales since more than ten months,  after the warning attacks carried out by Sanaa forces on export ports, according to sources in the company.

The company justified the decision as an attempt to “minimize ongoing significant financial losses and avoid a complete shut down of its operations,” , in a new confirmation that reveals that production processes are still ongoing.

Although Yemeni oil export operations have been suspended since November last year, foreign oil companies are still present at production sites, which indicates, according to observers, that oil smuggling operations continue in one form or another, as foreign oil production companies operate according to purely capital standards that do not accept any losses.

The decision of the OMV confirms the opinion of observers regarding the continued production and smuggling of oil in Yemen.

E.M