Yemen Monitor / Aden / Exclusive:
For the first time since Yemeni energy exports were halted more than three years ago, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council member Lieutenant General Mahmoud Ahmed Salem Al-Subaihi signaled the possibility of resuming oil and gas exports, reflecting growing government and international efforts to support Yemen’s struggling economy.
This came during a virtual meeting held by Al-Subaihi with the British ambassador to Yemen, Abda Sharif, where both sides discussed political, security, and humanitarian developments, as well as ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and international coordination to support stability in Yemen.
Al-Subaihi stressed the importance of continued Saudi support for Yemen and called for broader regional and international coordination “to create a secure environment that would help economic recovery and the resumption of oil and gas exports.” This marks the first official statement at this level directly addressing the possibility of restarting energy exports since they were suspended in late 2022.
The development comes alongside government efforts to address the economic crisis. On Tuesday, the Yemeni government announced the actual implementation of a decision to liberalize the customs dollar exchange rate as part of a package of financial reforms aimed at increasing state revenues and reducing economic imbalances.
In an attempt to ease public concerns over the impact of the decision, the government approved cost-of-living measures, including a 20% living allowance for state employees, payment of delayed annual bonuses and long-frozen job adjustments, as well as stricter oversight of markets and customs ports and efforts to combat smuggling and monopolistic practices.
Discussion of resuming oil and gas exports also comes amid a worsening electricity crisis and fuel shortages in government-controlled areas. Several provinces are experiencing widespread power outages with the arrival of summer, fueling growing public frustration.
The move also coincides with intensified UN efforts to support economic stability in Yemen alongside attempts to revive the political process, amid fears of a deepening economic collapse in a country facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Yemen’s oil exports have been almost completely halted since October 2022 following Houthi attacks on the Al-Dabba and Al-Nashima ports in the governorates of Hadramout and Shabwa. The attacks deprived the government of its main source of revenue, which previously accounted for about 70% of the state’s general budget.
