Bahrain is opening a new page in its economy with the unveiling of the largest oilfield in its history and the first since 1932.

This a stage that can be described as a “historic event” that could put Bahrain in the competition with the oil lords in the world.

The new discovery is significant not only because of the amount of oil stored in its largest oil basin, which is estimated to double the amount of oil produced from the Bahraini field now, but because it will be the first country to experience the extraction of light oil outside America with very high technologies. This is as per the member of the Bahraini Shura Council, Bassam al-Banmahammad, in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya.

According to Banmahammad, the basin discovered in southwestern Bahrain may contain a reservoir of light rock oil and large quantities of gas, noting that the quantities to be extracted will be characterized by high-quality oil production, given the geological nature of the site in the area known as “sweet spot” in the southwest Bahrain.

A state of extreme secrecy surrounds the quantities of oil stored and the volume of reserves expected to be extracted.

Banmahammad told Al Arabiya that Bahrain will see the first oil production from this basin after a maximum of 5 years, amid efforts to shorten this period in view of the advanced technology used in the extraction, especially with the presence of a large number of international companies in the stage of intensive negotiations with the Bahraini Ministry of Oil and the concerned parties, to provide modern technologies from now until the production stage.

He explained that Bahrain currently produces about 200 thousand barrels of oil per day, of which about 50 thousand barrels of oil per day comes from the field of Bahrain (the oldest oil field in the region). While 150,000 barrels per day come from Abu Safa field which is shared with Saudi Arabia.

More than one billion cubic feet (28 million cubic meters) of natural gas is produced per day, he added.

A new phase for Bahraini economy

“This is a positive outcome for the national economy and the future of Bahrain,” he said. “This will positively impact the Kingdom’s credit rating and better financing opportunities, while strengthening Bahrain’s commitment to global markets.

Since 80% of the country’s revenues come from oil, this oil source will undoubtedly boost state revenues and thus reduce the budget deficit and create jobs in the local market, especially after reducing the number of Bahrainis working in the oil sector.

New projects

This discovery is part of a series of new projects that Bahrain is working on in parallel with its vision to boost oil production.

On the other hand, Bahrain has developed a pipeline project, which comes within the framework of its strategic objective of raising the level of oil production.

Source english.alarabiya.net