*** ----> No contract signed so far to export gas, says Oil Minister | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

No contract signed so far to export gas, says Oil Minister

Manama : Bahrain has not signed any contracts so far to export gas, confirmed Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa to Asharq Al-Awsat in light of the biggest oil discovery the Kingdom has made since it started producing crude in 1932. 

The minister also told the news portal that the Kingdom is working on “completing two gas projects with operational power of 1.1 billion cubic feet”.

The report quoting the minister said that the Kingdom is mulling best “means to purchase gas through competitive prices and flexible conditions.”

Oil minister, in a statement released earlier, said that the new oil field is estimated to contain at least 80 billion barrels of tight oil. 

Independent appraisals by U.S.-based oil consultants DeGolyer and MacNaughton and oilfield services company Halliburton had confirmed Bahrain’s find of “highly significant quantities of oil in place ... with tight oil amounting to at least 80 billion barrels, and deep gas reserves in the region of 10-20 trillion cubic feet. 

“Agreement has been reached with Halliburton to commence drilling on two further appraisal wells in 2018, to further evaluate reservoir potential, optimize completions, and initiate long-term production,” Sheikh Mohammed told a news conference in Manama.

He said he was not sure yet how much of the estimated 80 billion barrels was recoverable. 

Al Ayam quoting the head of the financial and economic committee in parliament, Abdulrahman Bu Ali, said that the output was expected to be 200,000 barrels per day.

Bahrain has lately witnessed an increased demand on gas, the minister told Asharq Al-Awsat, expecting it to double with the launch of new projects. He added that the past five years saw a rise in demand for gas with an average that exceeded 2.5 percent annually.

The Kingdom, the report said, is working on two projects: A port for liquefied gas and a national gas plant with operational power of 350 million cubic feet daily. They aim to limit any possible shortage in gas supplies.

Bahrain’s onshore oil reserves, which the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates at 125 million barrels, are all located in the Awali oil field. 

Meanwhile, in a report released by rating agency Moody’s said that the new offshore field off the west coast of Bahrain, if verified, could stimulate private investment in the country’s energy sector in the near term, and in the medium term could increase government oil- and gas- related revenue.