TOTAL Expands Operation In Yemen

March 07, 2012

Integrated oil and gas company TOTAL S.A. (NYSE:TOT) has acquired a 40% interest in the Block 3 exploration license from Papua New Guinea based Oil Search Limited. This acquisition will allow TOTAL to operate an area of 2,954 square kilometers (1,140.5 sq miles) in the eastern part of Marib Basin in Yemen.

TOTAL will develop the project jointly with three other partners. The others to assist TOTAL in this project are Austrian energy company OMV, state-owned Yemen General Corporation for oil and gas and the Czech Republic’s MND.

We believe the acquisition of interest and subsequent plans of exploration in this basin are integral to TOTAL’s aggressive drilling strategy which has allowed the company to expand its worldwide reach. Prior to this project the company acquired licenses to jointly operate a few blocks in the Lake Albert region in Uganda.

Although the company is silent about the financial consideration involved in the acquisition of the license in Yemen, we believe its cash-rich position will enable it to make an outright purchase of the interest. TOTAL ended the financial year with €14.02 billion ($18.15 billion) in cash.

TOTOL has been operating in Yemen for the past 25 years and its production here has grown to 86,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in 2011. TOTAL is also the largest share holder of Yemen LNG with a 39.62% interest. The current acquisition will further increase its yield from Yemen.

TOTAL has been working relentlessly to extend its operations in Africa as well as in the Middle East. These regions provide a substantial portion of the company’s total production. At the end of the fourth quarter, combined production from these two regions accounted for 52% of the total, which was 2,384 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (kboe) per day.

TOTAL has been targeting to increase its total production by 2.5% per year on an average between 2010 and 2015. However, in 2011, the company failed to reach the targeted production level that was static at prior-year levels. We believe the growth projects, expected to start in 2012, like Usan in Nigeria, Angola LNG and Bongkot South in Thailand, to name a few, will boost the oil major’s production.

TOTAL S.A. currently retains a Zacks # 3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. The company competes with BP plc (NYSE:BP) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM).

France-based TOTAL is one of the largest publicly traded, globally integrated oil and gas companies based on production volumes, proved reserves and market capitalization. The company has exploration and production operations across five continents.

Al-Qaeda made strategic gains in southern Yemen during crisis - UN

8 March 2012

Yemen's new government faces serious security challenges, including from the terrorist group al-Qaeda, which made strategic territorial gains during the country's recent protracted political crisis, a United Nations official said Wednesday, DPA reported.

In addition, Yemen must deal with economic and political problems during its transition to democracy, as well as general elections scheduled in two years, Jamal Benomar, the UN special envoy for Yemen, told the Security Council in New York.

"During the long months of crisis, the state had lost control of its programmes, which benefited al-Qaeda," Benomar said. He said al-Qaeda had seized control of strategic cities in the south of the country.

He said Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a huge budget deficit and the world's highest rate of chronic malnutrition rate for children, second only to Afghanistan.

He appealed for continued support from the international community, which has only partially met the UN appeal for 446 million dollars for Yemen in 2012. Benomar said an estimated 500,000 children may die or suffer from chronic malnutrition this year.

AQAP announces Shabwa province an Islamic Emirate

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

SANA'A, March 7, 2012- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, (AQAP) announced on Wednesday Yemen's southern province of Shabwa an Islamic Emirate, as a second emirate for the group after nearly one year of announcing Abyan province an Islamic Emirate.

The group's Yemen branch posted on several jihadi websites a statement confirming their control over the province with highlighting their activities in the region.

Yemen Interior Ministry warned on its website against a potential terrorist attacks would target vital economic installations in Yemen southern province of Hadhramout.

The Ministry said that at least 300 AQAP elements were deployed in Azzan town, Shabwa province, amongst whom were Ibrahim Al-Banaa, an Egyptian national, Qassem Al-Raimi, the military leader, and Shaker Hamel, who is described as the most dangerous elements of the Al-Qaeda. The AQAP elements  are believed to be preparing for a series of attacks on local representatives and security facilities in the province. Moreover, the group is said to be planning a further expansion of its Islamic Emirate by seizing Mukallah, the regional capital of Hadhramout.

Earlier, Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in Yemen, including an assault on soldiers that left scores dead in the southern province of Abyan and the bombing of a military plane in Sana'a.

In a statement posted on several jihadi websites AQAP claimed Abyan operation against Dofes and Kud bases quoted the statement as saying, on Sunday, 'the mujahedeen carried out a series of operations against government forces deployed at the entrances of Zinjibar,' capital of Abyan province.

The extremists claimed that 'around 100 soldiers and officers were killed while 12 others were wounded and 73 held captive' in these attacks.

On the same day, 'the mujahedeen blew up a Yemeni air force military plane in Dulaimi army base that was transporting weapons to Aden and Hadhramout provinces, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), said in a statement.

The statement also demanded Yemeni government to release their prisoners from the national and political security jails in exchange for saving the lives of 73 soldiers they hold captive in Abyan.

The group urged relatives of the captured soldiers to lobby the U.S. ambassador to Yemen and President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen's newly-elected leader, on the soldiers' behalf.

In Wednesday's statement, AQAP claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on security forces across the lawless south and southeast of the restive country.

In related news, AQAP threatened an American school in Yemen saying it has become a target of Yemen Al-Qaeda branch.

According to Bikyamasr.com, the American Language Institute AMIDEAST, located in the southern city of Aden, received an anonymous phone call threatening an attack by the terrorist organization unless it complied with the group’s demands.

Qaeda claims Yemen raid in suspected 'inside job'

By Fawaz al-Haidari (AFP)

March 7, 2012

ADEN — Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on an army camp in southern Yemen that killed 185 soldiers, in what soldiers have condemned as an "inside job."

On Sunday, "the mujahedeen carried out a series of operations ... against government forces deployed at the entrances of Zinjibar," capital of Abyan province, said the group's Yemeni branch.

The extremists claimed that "around 100 soldiers and officers were killed while 12 others were wounded and 73 held captive" in these attacks.

Military officials and medics had told AFP that 185 soldiers were killed on Sunday when Islamist militants attacked the army camp in Kud, a town in Abyan.

The militants said they seized a tank, anti-aircraft weapons, a rocket launcher, rockets and 11 Kalashnikov assault rifles, as well as three military vehicles and "a large amount of ammunition."

They also claimed to have destroyed two tanks and burned an ammunition store.

The official, who was at the scene during Sunday's attack, said troops from the Kud base were "surprised" to see the militants carrying army issued weapons and using military vehicles.

Soldiers who survived the attack accused some army leaders who had served under former president Ali Abdullah Saleh of "collaborating" with Al-Qaeda.

General Ali Mansur, a former secretary at the defence ministry, said the assailants arrived by sea from the Gulf of Aden and seized military equipment of the National Guard to launch the assault.

It was an apparent "inside job," he said. "The operation was well planned and based on precise intelligence. It was carried out by well-trained armed groups."

Mansur charged that it was carried out "in direct coordination with the former commander of the southern military region, General Mehdi Maqola," citing accounts from soldiers who survived the raid.

New President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi last week named General Salem Ali Qatan to head the 31st Armoured Brigade in southern Yemen, replacing Maqola, a Saleh loyalist.

Also on Sunday, "the mujahedeen blew up a Yemeni air force plane at Dulaimi army base that was transporting weapons to Aden and Hadramawt" provinces, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in a statement.

"The blast took place after (the militants) sneaked into the base and planted an explosive device in the plane," it said.

An airport technician had told AFP at the time that a "mysterious" blast ripped through a Yemeni military plane at Dulaimi base, near Sanaa international airport, without causing any casualties.

In Wednesday's statement, AQAP claimed responsibility for a string of attacks on security forces across the lawless south and southeast of the restive country.

It accused Sanaa of "launching wars on those who want to implement Sharia (Islamic) law in its attempt to please the United States and the crusader West ... while holding talks with all (other) parties, including the Shiite Huthis who are killing Sunnis," a reference to rebels in Yemen's north.

The attacks claimed by AQAP came after Hadi took office on February 25, pledging in his inaugural speech to crack down on the militants.

The violence highlights the security challenges facing Hadi as he tries to restore order and unify the country's armed forces, as stipulated by a Gulf-brokered transition accord that ended Saleh's 33-year rule.

State news agency Saba quoted Hadi on Tuesday as saying: "We are determined to confront terror with all our strength whatever the price. We will track them to their last hideout."

Yemen Qaeda-linked group demands prisoner release

Wed Mar 7, 2012  

ADEN (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked group in Yemen has threatened the lives of 73 government troops it says it has captured, demanding the authorities release its fellow Islamist fighters from jail in exchange for the soldiers' safety.

The threat from the Ansar al-Sharia group (Partisans of Islamic Law), whose precise ties to al Qaeda remain unclear, was delivered via a text message sent to Reuters on Wednesday, and followed a fierce fire fight in the south of the country on Sunday between government troops and militants that left at least 110 government troops dead.

"The mujahideen demand the release of their prisoners from the national and political security jails in exchange for saving the lives of 73 soldiers they hold captive in Abyan," the text message read.

"In the event of failure to comply with their (the militants') demands, the lives of the soldiers will be in danger," it added.

The militants also urged relatives of the captured soldiers to lobby the U.S. ambassador to Yemen and President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen's newly-elected leader, on the soldiers' behalf.

There was no way to verify whether the text message was really from the militants but they have often used this method to communicate with local media in the past.

The army said on Monday some of its soldiers had gone missing but did not say how many. Hadi, who was elected just last month, has said his forces will hunt the militants down.

The militants struck on Sunday, launching suicide attacks on two military posts outside the southern city of Zinjibar in the province of Abyan. Medics said at least 110 government soldiers died in the blasts and clashes that followed. The militants, who reportedly lost 20 of their own fighters in the violence, are pressing for government forces to abandon the city of Zinjibar to them. They said they had taken at least 70 government troops prisoner on Sunday.

In another text message on Wednesday, the militants also said they had allowed a Red Cross medical team into Jaar, a small town in the same province which they control, so that wounded government soldiers could receive treatment.

The head of the Yemeni delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed separately that a small team of surgeons and doctors had been granted access to Jaar, where they treated 12 soldiers in a makeshift hospital in a school.

"We managed yesterday mid-morning to obtain authorisation by (the) armed group Ansar al-Sharia to come and do some medical work in Jaar in Abyan province," Eric Marclay told Reuters, adding that the 12 soldiers were now in a stable condition.

Ansar al-Sharia is inspired by al Qaeda but the precise extent of its ties to the global militant network are unclear, although the Yemeni government says they are one and the same. Some analysts say it may be local militant groups at work however.

A year of political upheaval has severely weakened central government control over swathes of Yemen in favour of Islamist militants, who have expanded their foothold in the south, near oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.

Militants seized the town of Jaar - the second largest in Abyan - last March, while protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh paralysed the country.

Wary of al Qaeda entrenchment in Yemen, the United States backed a Gulf-brokered deal under which Saleh handed power to Hadi, who is tasked with leading the impoverished nation for the next two years.

The bloody attack on Sunday underlined the scale of the challenge Hadi faces.