Gunmen blasted Yemen's LNG pipeline around 1:00 am Monday (2200 GMT, Sunday) just as Yemen LNG was preparing to restart processing at the Balhaf terminal after a previous attack on it in late April, a source at the Sana'a office of Total said Monday.
"The attack, the third in less than two months, occurred between Valve Station 8 and Valve Station 9 while Yemen LNG was conducting maintenance work on the pipeline after the fresh repairs," the source said.
Total's President in the Middle East for Exploration and Production Arnaud Breuillac recently announced the completion of the repairs after the attack on April 26
Breuillac also said Yemen LNG was planning to make up the LNG cargoes canceled due to the April and March attacks by al-Qaida militants and was looking forward to cooperation from the Yemeni authorities to help the company meet all scheduled shipments under the sale contracts.
Yemen's oil and gas pipeline pass through deserted and thinly populated areas where tribesmen and militants attack them easily.
Yemen LNG has three long-term contracts with Suez LNG Trading, Total Gas and Power, and Kogas.
Suez LNG's contract is for 2.5 million mt/year for North America, Total for 2 million mt/year, destined for the US, and Kogas 2 million mt/year for its domestic market.
France's Total leads the 6.7 million mt/year Yemen LNG project with a 39.62% share. Other shareholders in the project are US' Hunt with 17.22%, South Korea's Kogas (6%), Yemen Gas (16.73%), South Korea's SK Energy (9.55%), Hyundai (5.88%), and the General Authority of Social Security and Pensions with the remaining 5%.
