Oman calls on Saudi Arabia to revive the oil pipeline project.. Has it exposed its tools in Mahra?
English - Thursday 04 November 2021 الساعة 10:28 am
Al-Mahra, NewsYemen, private:
The Sultanate of Oman sent an official invitation to Saudi Arabia to revive the idea of laying a pipeline to export oil across the Arabian Sea away from the Strait of Hormuz.
This call came from the Omani Economy Minister Saeed bin Muhammad Al-Saqri in an interview with the Saudi newspaper "Al-Sharq al-Awsat", in which he said that "the time has come to revive the transportation of Saudi oil to the Arabian Sea."
The Omani minister said that the presence of a vital port for transporting oil and gas pipelines to the Arabian Sea through the Sultanate of Oman has become of paramount strategic importance in the event of "obstacles" in the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main crossing for the majority of oil and gas exports in the region.
He added: The project to build an oil pipeline across the Sultanate to the Arabian Sea has existed since the 1970s, and now - after agreements to increase Saudi-Omani investments and strengthen trade and investment relations - the implementation of this has become of strategic importance.
In the interview, the Omani minister referred to the projects implemented by his country in the field of roads, ports and free zones, and the advantages they offer to attract Saudi investments, as well as making it one of the import and export outlets for Saudi Arabia.
The Omani minister’s speech recalled the escalation practiced by political parties loyal to the Brotherhood and enjoying political and financial support from Oman and Qatar in the Yemeni governorate of Mahra for years against the presence of the coalition forces and Saudi Arabia in particular, which recently prompted them to significantly reduce their military presence there.
An escalation that came through armed sit-ins led by the former deputy governor, Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Huraizi, based on several accusations against Saudi Arabia, which amounted to describing its military presence as occupation and that it has ambitions in Al-Mahra Governorate, foremost of which is the project to build an oil pipeline and build a port to export oil away from the Strait of Hormuz, which is witnessing from time to time. The other is tension between Iran and America.
This accusation was repeated by the same Sheikh in a press conference he held last August, in which he accused Saudi Arabia of wanting to extend the pipeline "without return and without an agreement", bragging about the success of the sit-ins he led in thwarting the project and depriving Al-Mahra Governorate of it.
The Omani minister’s speech came and reinforced the accusations of his country’s support for the escalation of the Saudi forces in Mahra, which Oman considers a back garden for various reasons, including forcing Saudi Arabia to revive the idea of the pipeline project through Oman instead of Mahra.
