Yemeni oil export earnings rise 58 per cent in August

26 October 2009

Stronger oil prices and state’s growing share of crude production increases earnings

Sanaa’s earnings from oil exports rose 58 per cent in August because of stronger oil prices and the government’s increasing share of the country’s overall oil production, according to the Central Bank of Yemen.

The government’s share of oil exports rose from 2.2 million barrels in July to 3 million barrels in August, the central bank said in a report on 19 October. It gave no reason for the increase in the government’s stake.

A series of joint ventures between the government and international oil companies (IOCs) produce Yemen’s oil under an agreement. Both sides take a share of the oil they extract but the IOCs do not report their share of production or exports.

Sanaa’s share of production totalled 18 million barrels of oil between January and August, compared with 31 million barrels during the same period in 2008.

The average price of oil was $56.80 a barrel during the first eight months of 2009. This resulted in exports of $1bn, a 71 per cent drop in revenues for Sanaa compared with the same period in 2008. In the first eight months of 2008, the average price of oil was $114 a barrel and with total state earnings of $3.5bn.

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