Location

Yemen is a relatively small oil and natural gas producer. However, it is important to the global oil trade because of its strategic location at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Bab el-Mandab, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, through which an estimated 3.5 million barrels of oil passed daily in 2010. Disruption to shipping in the Bab el-Mandab could prevent tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden from reaching the Suez Canal/Summed pipeline complex, requiring a costly diversion around the southern tip of Africa to reach western markets.