Production at the Jannah field began in mid-October at an initial rate of 15,000 b/d, which is set to rise to 70,000 b/d by the end of 1998. Hunt Oil Company of the US is the operator.

The Cayman Islands-based Nimr Petroleum Company has succeeded in negotiating a more favourable production sharing agreement for Block 4 in the Shabwa field. Nimr aims to resume production in the block by the end of the year at a rate of 3,000 b/d, following the cessation of its operations in Yemen during the civil war of 1994. Under the new agreement, Nimr will pay 3 per cent of its revenues to the government in royalties, and take 70 per cent of revenues to cover its production costs. Profit oil will be divided equally.

A consortium of the UK's Tarmac Overseas with ABB Lummus Global of the US has a letter of intent for the contract to upgrade the Aden oil refinery. The contractors will arrange all the finance for the work, which is expected to cost $180 million. The upgrade is intended to restore the refinery to about half its design capacity of 170,000 b/d.