Saudi Arabia has granted Yemen three million barrels of crude oil to Yemen, a protest-hit country experiencing acute shortages of fuel and other key supplies.

Minister for Oil and Minerals, Amir Salim Al-Aidrous, said on Wednesday that Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz had donated three million barrels of crude oil to support the Yemeni economy and face the acute fuel shortage during this turning point.

"The first shipment of the Saudi donation will arrive in the country on a Yemeni tanker to Aden port soon. The shipment will be refined at the Aden Refinery which has been halted for more than 15 days," the minister said.

I hope the Saudi oil donation will help ease the fuel crisis here until the oil pipeline in Marib is repaired, he said.