Hadramout (South24) 

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Major General Faraj Al-Bahsani, Vice President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member, announced the discovery of an illegal oil smuggling operation during his visit to the oil port of Dabbah and the PetroMasila Company in Hadramout, on Thursday (January 30).

Al-Bahsani said the oil pipeline was found to be extending from the port facilities to an external site, which was used to pump and refine crude oil in illegal ways.

The Hadrami official directed that legal measures be taken to hold accountable those involved in the looting and smuggling of the governorate’s sovereign resources, stressing that no leniency would be shown to any party involved in these illegal operations.

Strangely, following these developments, the Executive Office in Hadramout Governorate held an extraordinary meeting, in which it expressed its rejection of the measures taken by Al-Bahsani, describing them as "arbitrary interference" against the general managers of the local authority. The PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi along with the Saudi-led Arab Coalition countries also called for intervention to end what he described as "irresponsible behavior."

For its part, the STC office in Hadramout announced its full support for Al-Bahsani and his actions, and stressed its commitment to fighting corruption and banning the continued looting of the governorate’s rich oil resources. It called for holding accountable those involved in the smuggling operations and taking deterrent legal measures against them.

The Hadramout Tribes Confederacy (HTC) issued a statement in support of Al-Bahsani's actions, stressing that the unearthing of the illegal refineries and oil smuggling lines are part of a broader system of corruption in the governorate. The HTC stressed the need to hold accountable anyone involved in or turning a blind eye to these illegal operations, and called for strict measures against the corrupt.

However, the Ministry of Oil and Minerals denied, through an official source, the veracity of the news circulating about the existence of an illegal oil pipeline, and claimed that the pipeline in question was designated for a new refinery and had not been in operation for two years.

Reactions varied among different parties in Hadramout regarding the discovery of smuggling operations, amid growing calls to take decisive measures to protect the national resources from being siphoned off.

On Saturday (February 1), Shabwa Governor Awad Al-Awlaqi criticized the lack of central coordination regarding the management and operation of the oil sector, and the negative results reflected in various fields.

This came during a meeting with Yemeni Oil Minister Saeed Al-Shamasi.

The Governor of Shabwa said that the halt in oil production and its export has negatively affected the provision of basic services, and emphasized that the governorate needs to exercise its economic rights, including setting up of the ’Petro Shabwa‘ company and a local oil refinery. He also called for oil companies to fulfill their developmental and environmental obligations.