Sana'a: A strike at the Yemen's main oil field in the eastern province of Hadramout has brought the country's meagre production of oil to a halt for four days, an official at the ministry of oil told Gulf News.
At least 1,000 workers, operating in Yemen PetroMasila stopped the flow of 160.000 barrels of oil a day from Block 14 Masila.
Yemen established in November last year the Masila Company for Petroleum Exploration and Production (PetroMasila) at Block 14 in the Masila area, in Hadramout province to replace the Canadian Nexen. The workers said that the government did not pay them the end of service allowances and other financial commitments associated with Canadian Nexen.
"The workers' demands are legitimate and they cashed in on the current critical situation to pressure the ministry of oil to pay their dues. The problem is deep-rooted and the new company inherited these problems from Canadian Nexen," the official said.
The official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the ministry is not able to meet the demands.
"It amounts to almost $60 million. As the government is having a cash crunch, I do not think it will be able to pay the dues now."
Abdu Baker Busaimar, deputy head of the workers' union, said that when Canadian Nexen handed over the block to the new company, they were promised the end of service allowance.
"The minister of oil promised to pay us our allowances. We also demand that our salaries to be on a par with workers in the other oil companies in the province like Total, DOVE and DNO," he added.
