Yemen repairs main crude oil pipeline after explosion: official

SANAA -- Yemen's main oil export pipeline has been repaired and crude is again flowing to the terminal on the Red Sea after tribesmen blew up a section of the link last week, a Yemeni oil official said on Thursday.

Friday's explosion followed a day after the completion of repairs to damage from a similar attack on May 24, before which the pipeline had been pumping around 125,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Arabian Peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its main pipeline in central Maarib province since an uprising broke out in 2011.

The tribesmen have given an ultimatum to the government to respond to their demands by Friday evening or they will blow up the pipeline again, the official said.