At least one person died and four others were seriously injured following a fire at a domestic gas storage facility at the Marib province of Yemen on Thursday.
According to state media reports cited by Reuters, the fire was caused by an electrical fault near the Safer oil industry compound located some ninety-five miles east of the capital city of Sanaa.
Firefighters were able to successfully extinguish the blaze.
Saudi-led coalition forces fighting Houthi militants have been flying reinforcements into a small airport in the town of Safer. The Houthi have control of Sanaa as well as the central bank despite calls from the government to comply with handing over the financial institution to the state.
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr last week said the state will not sell gold or oil so that funds can go to the Houthis that he claimed are taking about 33 percent of public funds to pay for their insurgency. The PM added the "economic truce" in the country is not helping the situation as it is encouraging the Houthis to divert money meant for oil purchases.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: EIA
The Marib province contains most of Yemen's oil and gas fields and has long been a battleground for numerous armed factions, which a recent Stratfor analysis identified as tribal militias, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) rebels and the Islamic State, coalition forces, and pro-government forces. Yemen's internal conflict has intensified since a plan to united the country failed in late 2014.
By Erwin Cifuentes for Oilprice.com
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Erwin Cifuentes is a Contributing Editor for Southern Pulse Info where he focuses on politics, economics and security issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.… More
