In late July the 'Ambelos' left Yemen's Bir Ali terminal with crude from OMV-operated Habban field on Block S2 —the first IOC export since foreign firms declared force majeure in 2015 (MEES, 3 August). Shipping data from Marine Traffic shows the Ambelos moored off Osaka, set to mark Japan’s first import of Yemeni crude since February 2015. Output from the S2 block was previously exported from Ras Isa on the Red Sea coast but the pipeline, which runs through Houthi-controlled territory, is non-operational.
Yemen restarted exports in August 2016 from its Ash-Shihr port (MEES, 15 September 2017), with output coming from state-operated Blocks 10 and 14 in the country’s Masila basin. Exports averaged 42,300 b/d in 2017 but a dearth of by-country import data since March from key buyer China complicates more recent estimates. (CONTINUED - 127 WORDS)