As the country looks to breathe new life into its flagging hydrocarbon sector, Yemen’s Ministry of Oil and Minerals has been holding talks with officials from its Gulf Arab neighbors in the hope of drumming up interest in its oil and gas industry.

Crude production in Yemen has been in steady decline over the past decade, with BP estimating the country’s 2011 production at 228,000 b/d, down 24% from the 2010 figure of 301,000 b/d, and 50% off 2001’s 455,000 b/d. The authorities have recently stressed the need to reverse this current trend and return crude output back to levels seen in the early 2000s. (CONTINUED - 276 WORDS)