Armies of Liberation

NY

Almost ten years passed since Abdul-Salam Ali Ba-Dikn has been put in a prison in Aden.
The inhumane treatment and torture by the prison officials made him decides to pursue the case against offenders to be presented to justice that he said “does not exist in Yemen”, but said he would seek international justice.
Before November 1997, Ba-Diken, the Yemeni businessman in the Gulf, was arrested for unidentified crime, but because a visit to his uncle in prison. His money and other properties have been confiscated and he has been detained for two years.
Before releasing him in January 1998, Ba-Diken said he was subjected to different forms of torture and inhumanly abused in an isolated prison for seven months. “They also threatened me to offend my family, I do not know why”, said Ba-Diken.
In the first letter to the General Prosecutor, the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (NODRF) asked for immediate intervention to release Ba-Diken and investigate torture and inhuman treatment against Ba-Diken for more than months.
Head of NODRF, the lawyer of Mohammad Naji Alaw, said in his letter that “Ba-Diken was moved to a dark isolated detention in Al-Sulban prison in Aden for seven months and 18 days where he was tortured”, demanding questioning with all involved in torturing Ba-Dikn and bringing them to justice.
The court that found no evidence against Ba-Dikn acquitted him, but it did not talk about rehabilitation it deserves. He said he would raise his case to the international justice to get punishment against those who tortured him and to restore his money and properties that were confiscated on no legal base.
Despite notes have been raised to president Saleh on his case, Ba-Dikn did not receive any response.
When Ba-Dikn filed a suit against prison officials accusing them of offending him for seven months, the court asked the court doctor to check him. The doctor said Ba-Dikn suffers from pains at the right of his back.
The medical examiner also said that he found signs of torture on the body of Ba-Dikn.
However, the court has not reached a verdict against offenders but acquitted Ba-Dikn on a warrant without checking justifications of putting him in jail.
Officials who expressed sympathy with Ba-Dikn only asked for brining him back his car and money, ignoring torture and illegal detention which more important for Ba-Dikn and justice advocates alike.

News Yemen:

Member of the Parliament and head of the Parliamentarians Anti-Corruption Organization, Sakhr Ahmad al-Wajeeh, said that many MPs” are not trained enough on questioning the ministers over issues so they lose useful information and facts.
Al-Wajeeh said there are 26 questions over corruption that the government had not answer although the Parliament summoned the ministers for questioning nine months ago.
Al-Wajeeh said in a symposium on corruption held on Wednesday in Al-Afif Culture House in Sana’a, which the official media did not cover as usual, that “there is corruption inside the Parliament where, he said, transparency disappeared and obligatory laws are not respected.
‘There corruption files in the Parliament which some bodies do not want to be discussed,” said al-Wajeeh, but he did not name those bodies.
One of the attendants suggested that the word “corruption” should be changed into destruction because, he said, the word “corruption id not annoying anymore.
Attendants also suggested forming a committee to make dialogue with corrupts as the committee of dialogue with militants.

Thats a good idea.

Did they cancell the project because the partners weren’t cooperating with the regimes intentions or because the partners violated the agreements? Is this anti-corruption or corruption?

Yemen Times:

SANA’A, July 30 — The Yemeni government decided at the start of this week to terminate the agreement signed 5 years ago between Saudi and Emirate investors regarding the Hadramout Refinery project.

According to Al-Shoura.Net that published the news on July 29, the Ministry of Oil (MO) according to sources there intends to terminate all its obligations regarding Hadramout Refinery Company (HRC), as the company violated the agreements and contracts.

The same sources affirmed that this project was cancelled as the company, belonging to Saudi and Emirate businessmen of Hadrami origins, refused the partnerships imposed by the authority.

Two years ago, a delegation including a number of founding members of HRC visited the site at which the project will be set up. Official media coverage was obviously attendant at the time, but it soon started to fade. Local sources mentioned that the company earlier accepted a bid submitted by a specialized American-Korean company to launch the construction phase.

According to 26 September.Net, belonging to Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Oil is now transparently studying a number of new international bids to construct the refinery in Hadramout.

The sources affirmed that these government measures aim to combat the monopoly of some companies and consider the country’s interest assuring that the “MO will not accept bids of companies practicing monopoly in any Yemeni area and further, those companies which construct false projects.”

YO

Joel Fort, General Manager of Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has denied the accusation of some members of Parliament that the company has sold the gas at a price lower than the international standard. In a press conference held last Wednesday at Taj Sheba Hotel in Sana’a, Fort said that such a claim was “a legend,” pointing out that 70 percent of potential production was already sold to the US market in accordance with international prices and 30 per cent was sold to the Korean market at a determined (but unspecified) price.

Korean ownership rises from 16% to 20%

Yemen’s ownership decreases from 23% to 21.72% (If total revenues for Yemen were estimated to be USD 10-20 billion, one percent is worth 100,000 million to 200 million dollars. )

Total owns three percent less than they reported in 2005.

Total’s press release in 2005 lists the owners of Yemen LNG. There is a difference in the ownership percentages currently being reported on YLNG ’s website.

YLNG owners——————percent owned 2005———–percent owned 2006 ————after Kongas transaction

Fwance’s Total————————————————43 %————————39.62 (also a customer)

State owned Yemen Gas————————————-23 %———————–16.73

Gen Authority for Social Security and Pensions———0%————————-5.00%

US Texas-based Hunt Oil————————————-18 %————————17.22

South Korea’s oil refiner SK Corp—————————10 %————————9.55

South Korean’s Hyundai————————————— 6 %.———————–5.88——————————–3.00

South Korea’s Kongas——————————————-0%————————-6.00 (also a customer)——-8.88

The Koreans trade among themselves: South Korea’s state-run gas monopoly Kogas is increasing its stake in Yemen LNG to 8.88% by buying additional shares from fellow South Korean giant Hyundai. The company decided to acquire half (2.9%) of Hyundai Corp?s stake in YLNG.

It looks like Yemen’s state owned share decreased about 1.25% from about 23% to 21.72%, possibly sold to Kongas. No body knows.

YLNG with primary ownership by Total has sold its twenty year production in three contracts. One contract is to Suez for 2.5 million tons of LNG per year. The second sales contract is to Total Gas and Power Ltd. for two million tons a year. Both Suez’s and Total’s shipment will begin in 2009 and last for 20 years. Shipments under both of these contracts are destined for sale in the US market. The third contract went to South Korea’s Kongas, destined for consumption in South Korea, and is for 1.3 to 2 million tons. The volume of the three contracts is 5.8 to 6.5 million tons a year.

YLNG’s estimated production is 6.7 million tons a year, leaving the amount allocated for domestic consumption in Yemen at between 200,000 to 900,000 tons a year.

Is that the way it works? Nobody knows. What price do the Yemeni people get to buy their own gas at? Hopefully the price is between 3-4.00 like Korea, and not at current market prices in 2008.

Further Total’s website notes 100% of natural gas in the US is sold on the spot market. So YLNG sold a third of Yemen’s production on a long term contract to Total Gas. Total Gas will presumably sell it on the spot market in the US at substantially higher prices. (Spot price today for delivery in Jan 2008 is USD 11.06; the sale price to Kongas was between UDS 3-4.00 The price at which Total Gas purchased two million tons a year is unknown. )

Total’s Gas Market Outlook predicts a strong market on page 5 here which is entitled “Sharp Increase in Gas Prices.”

It pretty much matches the 2008 market price of $11.00 that my friend looked up for me. Yet Yemen LNG (with 43% ownership by France’s Total) sold neraly all natural gas production in 3 twenty year contracts. One contract was under $4.00. One contract was to Total Gas and the sale price is unknown.

Total notes “Average spot gas prices multiplied by 3 since 2000.”

They call Yemen LNG “a giant project” and it seems its very important to them in securing their supply “Long term growth sustained by giant gas projects” (page eight)

Total is the second largest international producer in the Middle East. They have participation in nearly 40% of worldwide LNG capacity. I wonder how Yemen’s contract stracks up against Totals contracts with other suppliers.

Yemen accounts for about a third of Total’s current development projects (page 12). They are expecting 12% a year growth. Yemen will account for 40% of Total’s Middle East gas production. (page 14)

On page 18 Total notes the gas prices are highly leveraged to hydrocarbon prices, which they call “strong value creation over the long term,” Yet in Yemen LNG’s sale to Kongas, there is the unusual feature where the sale price is only leveraged by 30% to oil prices.

Here’s another report by Total, page 19. “LNG growing by 12% per year through 2010″ I think they mean demand, but price cant be far behind.

In this report< Total analyzes the intability and capacity of the oil markets and notes the "giant gas projects" as a main part of their future strategy for growth.

MITI:

In 2005, Kogas struck even more competitive deals with its suppliers, MLNG III Tiga, Yemen (YLNG) and Sakhalin II. Although these are long term contracts — all 20 years with an option for a further five — they appear to be extremely favourable, particularly as they were struck at a time when the price of crude oil was rising strongly.

In all three contracts the price of the fuel is less than 30% indexed to the price of crude oil.

In two of the contracts, Kogas is promised 70% winter delivery.

Also in two of the contracts is a price cap and the opportunity to review the price after seven years.

Kogas to own 8.9% of Yemen LNG:

Korea Gas Corp. – Additional dividend revenue expected from 2008. – KITC Full Report – PDF – 2006 年 7 月 19 日

We maintain BUY with the six-month price target of W45,000. The company decided to acquire half (2.9%) of Hyundai Corp?s stake in YLNG (Yemen LNG project). If the acquisition takes place, KOGAS? stake in YLNG would expand to 8.9%. We expect KOGAS to earn dividend revenue from 2008 with the beginning of YLNG?s LNG production of 6.7mn tons per annum in 2008. We believe that KOGAS? acquisition of Hyundai Corp?s YLNG stake shows one of the variety of roles that it can play in overseas resource development. As the government is trying to make overseas resource development a national agenda, we believe the government?s support for KOGAS will expand going forward. In return, the company will widen its role based on strong brand value and bargaining power.