Kuwait activates emergency plan for oil

30 March 2015

Plan involves security measures for operations both inside the country and abroad

Kuwait has activated an emergency plan for oil operations both inside the country and abroad due to the escalating conflict in Yemen, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) spokesman Sheikh Talal Khaled al-Sabah.

Speaking on 29 March Al-Sabah told Kuwait’s state news agency, Kuna, that the plan is being executed in coordination with security bodies involved in the Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.

Al-Sabah did not give details of what measures the plan involves.

Clashes between Houthi rebels and fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi are ongoing in the coastal city of Aden, two hours away from Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key oil transit point that separates the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Kuwait oil tankers are continuing to navigate the 20-mile-wide Bab Al-Mandab Strait near the coast of Yemen without incident despite the country’s escalating conflict, according to al-Sabah.

Kuwait oil tankers are equipped with specialist security equipment, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) spokesman and CEO of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), Sheikh Talal Khaled al-Sabah told Kuna.

Jet fighters from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan have all been deployed against Houthi forces.

The offensive sparked a 6 per cent jump in global oil prices on 26 March over fears it could make the key oil transit route unsafe for tankers.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait’s name translates as “Gateway of anguish” and stretches between the Yemeni coast and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa.

It is a key part of the route for tankers travelling from the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

Al-Sabah said that KOTC owns one of the world’s most modern fleets and has won awards for its safety standards.

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