The oil sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain celebrates the 90th anniversary of the first oil discovery with the discovery of the first well On June 2, 1932, Bahrain became the first country to discover oil in the region The Persian Gulf With the greatest impact, oil profits enabled generous spending on modernization and infrastructure development, and great for the development and modernization of this strategic sector, where it encourages the government to pump investments.

The beginnings date back to 1925, when the first exploration concession in the Kingdom of Bahrain was signed, after which on January 11, 1929 the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited “Bapco” was established and the company immediately began to build a strategic bridge. Connecting the Island of Sitra and the Island of Bahrain in 1930

After the drilling equipment arrived and the drilling site was selected near Jebel Dukhan, the drilling equipment was installed. The American company Standard Oil of California started drilling operations on October 16, 1931. On June 2, 1932, commercial quantities from oil well No. 1 in the Bahrain field averaged 9,600 barrels per day, the first discovery of fossil fuels in the Persian Gulf region.

On the other hand, the oil sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain witnessed the beginning of abundant oil production from the Abu Safa Al-Bahri field, which was a joint venture between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 1966 and currently produces around 330,000 barrels per day. .Equally divided between two sister countries.

As a result of the high flowing oil volumes, the Kingdom attempted to open its first oil refinery in 1936, with a capacity of up to 10,000 barrels per day, which has refined some of the Saudi oil through pipelines since 1945. The refinery in the Kingdom of Bahrain was built from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the production of the Bahrain onshore field was pumped entirely to the Bapco Refinery.

Bapco, which realized the first expansion of the refinery in 1968, increased the production capacity of the refinery to 250,000 barrels per day, then bought the entire refinery in 1997 with the increasing role of oil and its influence on oil. The extensive development process witnessed by the country, I started « Bapco » is currently implementing its ambitious plan to expand and modernize its refineries at an estimated cost of around 6 billion dollars. Increasing the refinery from 267,000 barrels per day to 380,000 barrels/day, which will constitute an important milestone that will lead to increased revenues. Strengthening the capacities in the oil and gas sectors. The project is one of the important development projects in the oil and gas field. The project contributes to the production of clean, value-added and environmentally friendly products.

Given the immense importance of the oil sector as one of the pillars of supporting the national economy in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Oil and Gas Holding Company was established in 2007 as the investment and development arm of oil sector companies. , 100% state owned and many companies under its main roof, one company Bahrain Petroleum (Bapco), Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas) and Bahrain National Gas Expansion Company (expansion), Bahrain Aviation Fuel Supply Company (BAFCO), Bahrain Base Oil Lubrication Company and Gulf Petrochemical Industry (GPIC), Tatweer Petroleum Company, Bahrain Liquefied Gas Company and Bahrain Company for blending gasoline.

The Oil and Gas Holding Company is primarily responsible for implementing the policies and strategies of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Oil and gas sector and the company oversees all investments in the Kingdom’s oil, gas and petrochemical assets and also establishes the Building expertise. companies that benefit the country’s economy and work to pursue the implementation of plans and programs designed to increase investment in this vital sector.

The holding company has contributed to the establishment of many mechanisms, procedures and policies that will ensure the sustainability of the stock. In addition to its important role in improving investment and management methods, this stock is the strategic plan that will serve the future needs and requirements of comprehensive development. On the other hand, it tries to follow the most important developments related to oil and gas exploration operations in the Kingdom and major projects related to the oil and gas sectors. In 2013, the Supreme Committee for Natural Resources and Economic Security was established to promote the sustainability of natural resources, ensuring the stability of the foundations of economic security.

Ninety years have passed since this natural wealth was discovered in the Kingdom and oil has been and still is the most important source of income as it has contributed to consolidating growth, ensuring financial and economic stability and supporting government funding in the past years. The country’s balanced and flexible policies ensure the sustainability of development. and ensured the sustainability of its resources.

Source Credit : The News Dept