Flows of crude oil through Yemen's main Marib-Ras Isa pipeline have been halted after it was hit again by a blast Thursday, a week after it resumed production following previous attacks, the country's defense ministry said.
The blast took place in Serwah in Marib province and large amounts of crude oil spilled into the desert, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.
The pipeline carries about 120,000 barrels of oil a day from the Marib fields to the Ras Isa export terminal on the Red Sea.
It has been a target of several attacks, which have halted oil pumping for more than a year, leading to losses of up to $15 million a day.
The attack happened a few hours after armed tribesmen attacked an army compound in the area, and a week after the pipeline resumed production, the ministry said.
Yemen, which once produced about 270,000 barrels of oil a day, has seen its oil and gas pipelines repeatedly sabotaged since anti-government protests broke out in January 2011.
