Yemen is hoping for a brighter future with a $2.5 billion gas project.

But security was still one of the main concerns of the project, which is located in Balhaf, near Mukalla, said a news report.
The project had been planned since 1997, but was delayed due to a sharp drop in global demand caused by the Asian crisis back then.
However, the recent rise in demand spurred the consortium Yemen LNG, 43 per cent owned by the France’s Total, to launch the project after finding potential buyers.
Three contracts were signed in February for the export of between six and and tonnes of LNG annually to the US and South Korea over 20 years, starting in 2009.
The project includes the construction of a 320-km pipeline to transport the gas to a liquefaction factory in Balhaf on the coast of Aden.