Officials said the refinery must be approved by the sheikdom's Supreme
Petroleum Council. They said the tendering process for the Al Zour refinery
could take two years until the awarding of all contracts.
Meanwhile, Yemen has reduced its crude oil production target for 2010 due to ongoing battles with insurgency organizations.
Officials said the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has reduced
Yemen's crude output target by 10 percent for 2010. They cited difficulties
in developing additional reserves amid the insurgencies in Yemen.
On June 3, Yemeni Oil Minister Amir Al Aidarous said the nation's oil
daily production would range from 280,000 to 300,000 per day. In January, Al
Aidarous predicted that Yemen's crude output would increase by 10 percent
this year from the 287,000 barrels per day in 2009.
Officials said Yemen, which intends to issue a tender for the
exploration of five blocks in 2010, was encountering difficulty in
attracting Western energy majors to develop the nation's oil and natural gas
reserves amid the campaigns by Shi'ite rebels in the north and Al Qaida in
the south. They said tribes in the eastern province of Maarib were also
raising their demands for payoffs for energy projects in their areas.
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