EGM Statement

Salem Kaiti , Executive General Manager

Several years ago, specifically on November 15, 2005, Safer Exploration and Production Operations Company (SEPOC) began operating and managing all petroleum operations in Block 18 in Marib - Al-Jawf. The company commenced operating facilities and managing operations with both national staff and multi-national expertise. The national workforce at that time represented more than 75% of the workforce in the company. Over the years, the percentage of national workers has increased, reaching almost 99% of the company's workforce at present. During these years, the company succeeded in accomplishing many important objectives in various fields, whether those related to the development and training of the workforce in the company or the improvement of health care for employees and their families., or those missions related to technical achievements in the fields of exploration, production, and maintenance of facilities, besides improving HSE levels in all Company’s working sites.

Despite the ongoing war in the country since March 26, 2015, the company with its appreciated loyal national cadres was able to overcome all the security, financial and technical challenges of the war. The company's production facilities and all other operations continued running smoothly for oil and gas production without any interruptions. The operations of maintaining the fields and securing the risks of some wells continued, and the company succeeded in preserving the oil and gas reserves in the Block by gas recycling operations, maintaining production facilities, and ensuring their permanent readiness for work. Some operations related to upgrading the Marib refinery and providing necessary spare parts for this upgrade have also been completed. This has contributed to the stability and development of the refinery's production of oil derivatives from gasoline, diesel, and premium gasoline, in addition to securing the refinery's support services for petroleum operations in the Block.

SEPOC has been crowned with the most important achievement in the field of production, specifically the production of premium gasoline. In the middle of 2019, the company started experiments to produce premium gasoline as a new product according to technical, economic, and environmental studies of the constituent materials of this product, the most important of which is the C5 + component extracted from the gas plants located within the company's production facilities. The production of premium gasoline has enhanced the company’s energy contributions in the local markets. Thus, SEPOC will remain the main supplier and partner for all energy sources in the local market over the whole country. The most important of these sources are the production of gasoline, LPG, and premium gasoline. All of these products are marketed through government-specialized companies, specifically the Yemeni Gas company and the Yemeni Oil Company. In addition to these achievements, SEPOC succeeded during these difficult years to control expenses and reduce the overall operations costs, 

The export of LNG through the export facilities in Balhaf was suspended due to the war, and the export of crude oil resumed in October 2019. Most of the natural gas production is recycled to maintain the fields and preserve pressure in the reservoirs, as well as to ensure the readiness and safety of the facilities in Block 18 so that liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations can be resumed smoothly. The LNG export facilities in Balhaf are supplied with sufficiently limited quantities of produced gas mainly to sustain the maintenance of facilities. A huge volume of crude oil was reinjected and lost in the fields before resuming export in October 2019. Due to the current war in the country, the company is forced to reinject crude oil that cannot be exported back into some wells. Unfortunately, this in turn makes it hard to reproduce it again.

Block 18 with its wide area is the most important productive Block in Yemen. SEPOC will continue the main tributary of energy sources for the local market. In addition to that, SEPOC as the operator of Block 18 will remain the core supplier of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) to the international market besides the possibility of contributing to increasing the energy sources by investing in unconventional oil reserves. There are also many promising exploratory opportunities in Block 18, as shown by studies that relied on recent seismic surveys There is a lot of information that will be the ground for many studies carried out in cooperation with some international companies specialized in exploration and production. As these studies have proven the existence of many promising investment prospects in Block 18 and various fields, below are some examples: -

1-     Unconventional oil reserve

2-     Heavy oil reserve

3-    CNG project for cars and various transportation means.

4-     Modifying LPG extraction plants to increase the extraction rate of LPG.

5-    Activating exploration in the basement besides drilling in newly-promising areas according to both the recent and future studies

In conclusion, I am delighted to thank my colleagues who had the main role and the honor of participating in all the company’s attained achievements. The company’s staff will remain the focus of our both attention and care toward achieving the common interests of the Company and its laborers. I also extend my sincere appreciation to the local authority’s leadership in Marib, the Ministry of Oil, and the Presidential Council for their unceasing support for Safer company.

May Allah Bless everyone.

Salem Mohammed Kaiti