Yemen started on Thursday repairs to its main oil pipeline in Marib province, after Al-Shabwan tribe agreed the prior day to help the authorities get access to the damage areas. The pipeline was attacked first in March and a second time while empty in June.

Saba quoted a local official in Marib as saying that technical teams have started today repairing the pipeline in Wadi Abeeda and Serwah districts.

The official said at noon the repairs would be completed in the coming hours.

The attack on the pipeline in mid-March was a key reason for the current acute fuel crisis in Yemen.

Meantime, shipments within a three-million Saudi crude oil grant are continuing to arrive in Aden coinciding with quantities the government has purchased from regional countries including the UAE to deal with the crisis.

Most recently, the Untied Arab Emirates promised to give Yemen three million barrels of crude oil to help it cope with the fuel crisis. Oman also said it would give oil to Yemen but it did not disclose the size of its grant.