The Yemen ministry of Oil and Minerals said recently it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kuwait Energy Company, an independent oil and gas exploration and production firm.
Kuwait Energy will conduct a six-month study addressing the potential development of natural gas reserves in Yemen and the optimisation of the country's natural gas resources for the benefit of its people.
Under the framework of the MoU, Kuwait Energy will advise the ministry "on the most suitable uses and applications for the country's gas resources in order to ensure production sustainability and maximise revenue generation and job creation."
The study will be conducted at no cost to the Yemeni government or its people. Kuwait Energy, which currently operates in Egypt, Yemen, Oman, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia and Pakistan, says it had proven and probable reserves of 51.2mn barrels of oil equivalent at the end of 2009, with current production of about 14,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent.
The company said that it plans an initial public offering of its shares on the London or Kuwait bourses, or on both exchanges, within the next nine months, subject to market conditions.
