International oil companies have started to evacuate staff from Yemen as the escalation of violence threatens the country’s main source of revenue. Austria’s OMV, Norway’s DNO and Occidental Petroleum of the US all said they were pulling expatriate employees out of the country amid political turmoil that on Wednesday forced the president to offer to resign within a year.
Yemen accounts for only a small proportion of global oil and gas supplies but the country’s location means the decision will rattle nerves in the oil market.
First, the withdrawal is a sign that the effects of Middle East unrest on the hydrocarbons industry are edging ever closer to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil producer.