The Empty Quarter

The strike is entering into its second day. Ten people were arrested in Aden for inciting a strike and disrupting the public interest. The leader of the movement called for their release and denied reports that an agreement with the government has been reached…

NUCLEAR power is the best option for the Gulf states to meet their growing energy demands, but the key is to produce it collectively, experts said yesterday…

Bahrain said on Wednesday it has halted negotiations with Iran over a major gas import deal in a deepening row over comments that touch on the sovereignty of the tiny Gulf kingdom…

Kuwait is “thinking seriously” about building nuclear power stations to keep up with skyrocketing power demand, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmed Jaber, the Emir of Kuwait said in remarks published on Wednesday…

The Ministry of Interior announced on its website that one of the most wanted persons in connection with pipeline bombing in Marib has been arrested in the port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday.

New Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah took the oath in the National Assembly yesterday amid protests by a number of MPs who objected to his appointment.

I highly doubt this is al-Qaeda. This is too small-time for an opening salvo from AQ-Arab Peninsula. This is tribal…probably some sort of grenade or IED. A tribe in this region threatened bombings a few days back – wonder if they made good on their promise.

Three soldiers killed and five others wounded in clashes with the Damashq of Ubayda tribe. Tribal casualties were undetermined. The dispute is over power lines running through the tribe’s territory.

The new regional organization has chosen “Abu Basir” as general, and Sa’id Ali al-Shihri, the released Saudi from Gitmo, as Vice-General. They also plan to release another edition of the e-zine “echo of the battles”

Yemeni tribesmen of Shabwa governorate released on Tuesday a German engineer along with two Yemenis abducted last Sunday, Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The Information center of the ministry reported that tribal leaders’ mediation in the governorate had ended up with the release.

Bahrain intends to push ahead with plans to buy gas from Iran, despite the concerns of the US, an important ally for the small Gulf kingdom, senior officials say.

Visiting Iranian Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday Iran was ready to provide adequate security and economic guarantees to Gulf countries. Tehran seeks to forge bonds of rapprochement and understanding with other countries, particularly Gulf ones, Larijani told a news conference at the wrapping-up of his current visit to Bahrain.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries enjoy robust balance sheets and are strong enough to withstand the steady decline in oil prices amid credit crunch, said a new report by global rating agency Standard and Poor’s.

OPEC is all but certain this week to slash oil output in a bid to counteract falling demand and a precipitous drop in crude prices. Nigeria, Iran and Venezuela, who are already under growing fiscal pressure, will be loath to cut back their own output even in the face of falling prices. That job will fall largely to Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer by far. The Saudis until now have been hesitant to reduce output this year, but analysts say the kingdom is serious about ensuring that prices don’t fall below $60 a barrel.

Total farms into an Yemen onshore block with KNOC
Author: Moussa Ahmad
Posted: 19-10-2008
YEMEN. Total announced today that it has signed an agreement with Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) to farm into onshore exploration Block 70 (Attaq Area, Shabwa Governorate) in Yemen with an interest of 30.875%. This agreement has been approved by the Yemeni Ministry of [...]

I guess they ran out of mortars…or maybe subsidy cuts are affecting prices in the weapons suqs too.

Second blast within a week, Americans evacuated from embassy

By: Nasser Arrabyee

Article Date: Apr 10, 2008

A bomb exploded early on Thursday outside the offices of a Canadian oil firm in Hadda Street, in the Yemeni capital Sana’a. The blast [...]

Disarmed? So it’s not mortars this time…ieds?

Blast near Canadian oil firm Nexen offices in Yemen

SANAA, April 10 (Reuters) - A blast shook an area near the headquarters of Canadian oil company Nexen (NXY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (NXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in the Yemeni capital Sanaa early on Thursday but there were no casualties, a Yemeni [...]

Congrats.

Calvalley, Reliance consortium finds oil in Yemen

MUMBAI, April 8 (Reuters) - A consortium led by Canada’s Calvalley Petroleum (CVIa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) that includes India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) has struck oil in a block in Yemen, Reliance’s president for international business said on Tuesday.

“We have drilled a well and there are [...]

Many sources out there have seven people arrested so far. According to al-Riyadh, many of the seven “Ilsamists” arrested have information about “suicide bombers.” The article does not make clear whether the arrests were specifically linked to the arrest of Abdullah al-Raimi on 5 April, or whether they were picked up following the projectile attack. [...]

It appears as though al Qaeda influenced elements have attempted to target westerners again. This time, instead of going after the US embassy, they launched mortars at a housing complex in the affluent suburb of Hadda. I know that the there is a secured complex next to the (Best Western) Haddah Hotel (you can see the [...]

Found these. Not sure how recent they are, or if the fighting in the second video is of the recent conflict between the Yemeni government and tribal members during the whole Vikoil incident. In any case, you can see by the hardware why the Yemeni military took losses.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYbnNgBZI6w]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmE6tqByaVQ]

A Filipino supervisor of the Safir LNG pipeline was found hanging Tuesday evening. Raul Beek (transliteration, unsure of exact name), 36, was found hanging in his bathroom. Other workers at the project speculated that the deceased suffered from “personal problems.”

خبير أجنبي ينتحر شنقاً في مشروع الغاز المسال في شبوة
الثلاثاء, 13-نوفمبر-2007
نبأ نيوز- خاص/ شبوة -
أكدت مصادر محلية مطلعة في شبوة [...]

Connected to the Vikoil attack, or separate? From Sahwa.net

Gas tankers attacked in Shabwa
13/11/2007
November 13, 2007- Provincial sources have affirmed that unidentified men shot fires at 30 gas tankers in Shabwa governorate.
They also confirmed that gunmen targeted tankers’ tires as well as military crews and forced them to stop on roads, pointing out that [...]

As alluded to earlier, the press and anti-corruption authority don’t like the fact that this “MANG” company doesn’t have any experience with wind farms. The Cabinet has therefor postponed a decision on the matter, while leaving open the possibility of the agreement’s cancellation altogether.
While the wind agreement might blow away, I don’t see the [...]

Couple of things here I haven’t seen reported elsewhere. First, the name of the Ukrainian company - Vikoil - which had previously been withheld from the press. The second piece of information that has come out, which isn’t really surprising, is that the government paid the tribe 1.5 million rials (about $7,500) to even come [...]

The Yemeni press has been asking questions about this company in regards to the new wind farm deal signed with the energy ministry Oct 30. So close to the Powered Corp nuclear deal meltdown, I don’t blame them for being skeptical. A cursory Internet search on NAMG reveals nothing (I actually believe that the transliteration [...]

According to al-Wasat, al Qaeda denied the bombing in a telephone conversation. As I said earlier, a pipeline bombing wouldn’t make sense for AQ following the more sensational attack on the Spaniards.
Thanks to Greg for the tip.

القاعدة تنفي لـ”الوسط” صلتها بحادث تفجير صرواح
الخميس 08 نوفمبر 2007
فيما لم يتم الكشف عن الجناة ودوافع العملية [...]

 Al Qaeda or no? Here’s the thing. Ordinarily I would say this fits al Qaeda MO - as the article points out, they have struck at oil facilities in the past. However, with the Spanish tourist bombing, AQ-Yemen raised the bar for attacks dramatically. Going back to a simple pipeline bombing doesn’t really make sense. [...]

Done. No statement on the shadiness of the deal… just that the company is “incapable of implementing the reactors.”

The Yemeni government cancels electricity ministry agreement with Powered
Tuesday, 30-October-2007
almotamar.net - The Yemeni government has Tuesday cancelled an agreement the Yemeni ministry of electricity and energy has concluded with an American company late last September for building [...]