Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
The Yemeni cabinet approved on Tuesday the resumption of activity at Aden Refinery as a “free zone” after years of suspension (as the first oil refinery in the Arabian Peninsula).
This came during a cabinet meeting in the temporary capital, Aden, chaired by Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, to review a number of issues and developments in light of recent developments, according to the official Yemeni news agency.
The council approved the exercise of Aden Refinery Company’s activities in accordance with the free zone system due to its location within Aden Free Zone, Sector 👎, as defined by the decision of the Prime Minister No. 65 for the year 1993 regarding the locations and geographical boundaries in which the free zone system will be applied in the city of Aden and its amendments, and benefiting from the privileges, advantages, and guarantees stipulated in accordance with the free zones law.
According to the agency, the council directed the Ministers of Oil and Minerals, Finance, Legal Affairs, Transport, and the State Governor of Aden, and the head of the Aden Free Zone, to work on translating the decision and directing the relevant authorities, each according to its competence, to work in accordance with the procedures followed to implement the decision and in accordance with what was practiced before the suspension of this activity in 2015.
It also directed the ministries and concerned authorities to work on implementing the government’s priorities and main tracks and to be the focus of all work, represented in preserving the state’s legal status, combating corruption, enhancing accountability and transparency, financial and administrative reform, developing resources, and optimal use of foreign aid and grants.
The Prime Minister renewed the government’s determination and commitment to moving forward with comprehensive economic, administrative, and financial reforms, and expanding opportunities and areas of support and partnership in this regard with brothers and friends.
Aden Refinery was subjected to burning more than 4 times during the ongoing war since 2014, and the Yemeni government suffered significant economic losses as a result of its disruption.
After the unity of the north and the south of the country in 1990, Aden Refinery used to receive oil coming from Marib Governorate in eastern Yemen, as it is considered light crude and suitable for refineries, which was estimated at one-third of what Yemen extracts from crude oil. From this, the refinery covered 90% of the local market’s needs for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other petroleum products that the Yemeni market needed.
