29 March 2007
The situation in Balhaf, after the unfortunate violent demonstrations of Sunday 25 March, has now been fully restored and work has resumed normally since the following day. Assessment of the damage resulting from the incident is confirmed to be limited to broken windows of some vehicles and offices and the destruction of a helicopter. Contrary to what some media reports indicated, no fatalities or serious injuries were caused by the incident.

Investigations by the concerned security authorities are ongoing to uncover the underlying causes behind the incident in the plant. However, initial investigation proved that there was no defilement of the Qur’an. Misinterpretation or perhaps even misinformation on the causes of the personal conflict between the French engineer and the Yemeni worker by people who did not observe the dispute appear to have been transmitted to agitate emotions of other workers.

Yemen LNG regrets this unfortunate incident and continues to be committed to building a world-class company in compliance with principles of safety, operational excellence, Yemenisation, business integrity, respect for all, environmental stewardship and partnership with local communities.

Yemen LNG is currently constructing a natural gas liquefaction plant on the coast of Balhaf, Shabwa, as well as a 320-kilometer pipeline which will connect the gas processing facilities in Block 18 in Marib to the liquefaction facilities, located at around 400 km East of Aden. The construction is currently involving around 4,000 people in Balhaf and almost another 1,000 along the pipeline. Yemen LNG has appointed two major contractors to complete the construction works. In turn, these Contractors have appointed various subcontractors to assist them in implementing parts of the project work.