Oil is the key corner of the development process of Yemeni economy. The Ministry of Oil and Minerals headed by the Minister Khalid M. Bahah and the Petroleum Exploration Production Authority (PEPA) have launched a massive campaign promoting Yemens offshore oil blocks. Recently, the Ministry held a promotional conference to highlight the features of investing in Yemen and to call on investors to place their bids for the new 11 Offshore Oil blocks that are up for grabs. The blocks are located in the Red Sea, blocks 55, 22 and 23; Gulf of Aden, blocks 46, 61, 62 and 63 and Socotra basin, blocks 93, 94, 95, and 96. The conference was a success with more than 40 big oil firms attending including Shell, British Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, Oxy, Nexen, Oil Search and CCC.