Explosion hits Yemen’s main oil export pipeline

Gunmen have blown up Yemen’s main oil export pipeline in the central province of Marib, halting the flow of crude, witnesses and security officials say.

Witnesses said on Friday that flames erupted from the pipeline in Wadi Abida that was used to carry around 180,000 barrels of oil per day.

Shortly after the explosion, the army fired artillery at Al-Haween in Wadi Abida where the attack took place and warplanes overflew the area, AFP news agency quoted tribal sources as saying. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The key pipeline carries oil from Safer oilfields in Marib to an export terminal on the Red Sea. An official working for the state-run Safer oil company said the blast halted crude flows to the Ras Isa terminal but pumping would resume once the pipeline is repaired.

Insurgents and tribesmen have repeatedly attacked oil and gas pipelines in Yemen over the past two years in a bid to win concessions from the central government, causing fuel shortages and slashing export earnings for the impoverished country.

In December, at least 17 people were killed after the Yemeni army launched an offensive against tribesmen suspected of sabotaging the pipeline.

Official figures show lost production because of pipeline attacks in the east cost the Yemeni government more than USD one billion in 2012, while oil exports fell by 4.5 percent.