Efforts exerted by the Yemeni government succeeded in resuming crude oil exports from a block in Shabwa province after a more than three-year halt, raising hopes of improved state revenues. Government sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that oil production in block S2 resumed after the foreign firms, which have been granted permits, re-launced their operations following a halt in production in mid-2015 after the Houthi coup. At the start of operations, approximately 500,000 barrels will be set for export, the source said. The Yemeni government hopes that its attempts in liberating Hodeida, its port and Port of Ras Isa would help the resumption of exports from the Maarib oilfields. However, the group’s control over areas where the pipeline extends from west Maarib is an additional obstacle, compelling the government to search for an alternative to export oil through southern Shabwa ports. Meanwhile, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi ordered Tuesday the formation of a committee to brief him on services and the security condition of Mahrah Governorate, and to submit a report on its needs. According to official sources, Hadi received in the temporary capital Aden a number of social and military figures as well as elders from Mahrah in the attendance of State Minister Mohammed Abdullah Keda, Shura Council members Ahmad Mohammad Qahtan and Tawakol Salem Salemeen in addition to Abdullah bin Issa Afrar, head of the Supreme Council of Al Mahrah and Socotra. Saba news reported that Hadi commended the security and stability in Mahrah, and lauded its residents for putting the interest of the province before narrow self-interest that results in destruction and tragedies. The president urged Mahrah residents to be united and to harness all potentials in serving the province.