The permit problems are essentially the Govt ,( some individuals ) are pissed off that PSA bought the field... Oxy was in the process of handing back the whole kit to the Yemeni's when PSA swooped in , offered some cash and won the prize .... that meant't that the greedy corrupt officials were not able to get their hands on the field and divert a whole lot of oil production cash ( when it flows) into their Swiss accounts.
So the only way those guys are going to get any cash is through brown paper bags, or halal paper or whatever and PSA refuse to play that way... so there is a bit of a stale mate.
The problem the Yemeni officials have is the Saudi Govt is sick and tired of funding these clowns so is pressuring Hadi to restart oil production so the Yemeni's can start funding themselves somewhat. Additionally, the local folks, who are keeping the facility safe want their oilfield jobs back are also piling on the pressure as the local tribe has some influence.
As @rubs1973 said OMV are an existing operator in Yemen with a proven track record, PSA while having operator ship of the fields has no such track record in Yemen so another hump in the road is proving their operating bona fides which they are doing so by highlighting previous achievements in the GOM.
There has been more communication with the new Minister for Oil since April, and the fact that new documentation has been forwarded to the Govt in July ( which is new info to me) suggests there may be some movement at the station .
Is this all a BS ruse by the Yemeni Govt ?, are they going to come to the party eventually?, who knows but the size of the prize is such that until PSA pack up and take their bat and ball and go home empty, I'm not going anywhere.
Cheers
Dan
PSA Price at posting:
14.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held