Monday, December 28, 2009
Yes, Yemen Has Oil
Yes, Yemen has oil.
The Middle Eastern nation - in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea - has been exporting a couple of billion dollars worth of crude oil per year.
But it's oil supplies are shrinking rapidly, and may be totally depleted within 10 years.
As the Yemen Observer notes:
Yemeni crude oil exports decreased to $1.5 billion during the fiscal period from January –October of 2009, compared with $4.2 billion during the same period of 2008, a decrease of $2.7 billion, the Central Bank of Yemen reported.
And the World Tribune points out:
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said Yemen was rapidly losing its crude oil reserves.
In a report, Carnegie said Yemeni oil exports, a key source of foreign currency, declined from 450,000 barrels per day in 2003 to 280,000 in early 2009, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Barring any major new discoveries, energy experts generously estimate that Yemen's oil exports will cease in 10 years," the report, titled "Yemen: Avoiding a Downward Spiral," said.
11 comments:
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Ummm... Your post indicates that Yemen's oil reserves are not only minor but that they are significantly below the level of reserves found most anywhere. What exactly is the point here? The focus on oil here seems only useful as a distraction.
ReplyDeleteSo if the Yemeni oil output is dwindling so quickly, why is the US fighting so hard for it?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Saudi's peaked around 2000=2001. Cheney and his boyz knew it then, and the rest is history. We now have endless wars without borders.
ReplyDeleteChasing A/Q has become the justification for preemptive strikes where ever and when ever.
maybe somebody thinks what is there will be easy to take, and worth the trouble.
ReplyDeleteOil revenues is what the rebellion is all about. Rural tribes feel that they aren't receiving their fare share.
ReplyDeleteYemen has oil, but certainly not enough worth fighting over.
ReplyDeleteWe, on the other hand, have lots of oil.
And gas.
And coal.
And hydro, with many more rivers available.
Not to mention nuclear.
And tidal.
And wind.
Etc.
We have the means to solve the energy problem one state, locality and region at a time.
What we lack is a government that will allow us to access all those sources of energy. What we do have is this behemoth that keeps trying to jury-rig a 'we pick the winners' system, which ensures that everyone loses.
The one most effective blow we can strike for peace in the world would be to drill, dig, dam and otherwise become a net exporter of energy.
Maybe this is more to the point of what is going on?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidv52n40-3NC22/Yemen%20Evaluating%20Nine%20New%20Oil%20Discoveries/
OldSouth: You forgot geothermal. The US probably has enough untapped geothermal to supply 20% of its energy. Many nations along the "ring of fire" eg the Indonesia, most central american and Andean nations, have enough geoheat to supply ALL their energy needs.
ReplyDelete"More than 100 gigawatts of geothermal power could be developed for just $1 billion spread out over the next 40 years—the price tag of just one advanced coal-fired power plant and one third the cost of a new nuclear generator." [Scientific American, 1/23/07]
A decline in oil production can lead to political instability, especially when it results in a decrease in investment in socially important programs, and a decline in the local economy generally.
ReplyDeleteIt must also be recognised that oil is not just a fuel. Refineries produce feedstocks for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The casing of your computer is made from oil, and so are many textiles. Oil is a source of materials that have many uses in any local economy.
Reserves are also defined on the basis of an expected selling price, so if the price of oil increases, marginal fields become economical. Yemen is not fully explored and there are good prospects for future discoveries in the region generally, so it is not quite the end of the story. Even large future finds in Yemen, onshore or offshore, cannot be ruled out completely.
Today, Yemen's economic and political health are more important to the western world than ever before, and certainly more important than its potential as an oil exporting country.
According to the Yawya.com post, nine new oil blocks have been detailed in a report issued back in October. This is what it's really about. Oil. We all know it. Your blog is just a front for the CIA or some other covert-related misinformation campaign. China's going to get this one, though. Give it up.
ReplyDeleteThink [shipping lanes].
ReplyDelete