OREANDA-NEWS. Yemen's oil ministry has confirmed the sale of 3mn bl of Masila crude to trading firm Glencore.

The deal was struck on the back of a tender, in which 29 foreign companies were invited to participate. Of the 29 firms, only three participated, as four turned the invitation down and the remaining 22 did not respond. Glencore submitted the highest bid which was "confirmed by the supreme crude oil marketing committee," the ministry said.

Glencore's shipping arm, ST Shipping, has booked a 2mn bl VLCC, the Ataka, to load from 6 August at Yemen's Ash Shihr terminal on the Gulf of Aden, for an eastbound voyage, likely to be to Singapore.

If the shipment is successful, it will be the first sizeable crude cargo Yemen will have exported since early in 2015.

Shipping lists show that ST Shipping also provisionally booked Suezmax the Seaprince to load 130,000t, some 965,000 bl, of crude, also at Ash Shihr, from 31 July, bound for China. But with the vessel still off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, it is unlikely to make those loading dates.

Yemen had appeared ready to restart crude exports in May, shortly after the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government retook the southern city of Mukalla and the adjacent territory, including the terminal at Ash Shihr.