Reveal Bapco accounts : Bahrain MP

Manama: An MP demanded to reveal the financial status of the country’s oil industry, claiming that some information is never disclosed by the authorities.

MP Anas Buhindi said during the Council of Representatives’ weekly session yesterday that “Bahrainis, MPs and citizens, deserve to know about the financial details of Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco).”

This came while the MP discussed before the Council with Energy Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza the details of Bapco’s operating expenses and summary of donations and sponsorships for the years 2005-2014.

The details provided by the Minister were in reply to a parliamentary query that was previously sent by the MP.

During yesterday’s session, Buhindi accused the Ministry saying, “The Minister never revealed the details of oil extraction expenses. My fellow MPs also asked the same and never got a clear answer. Why such important information remains in the dark, while citizens deserve to know about it.” In his reply, Dr. Mirza said, “The queries sent to us were about the operational expenses of the company and its contributions to charity works. We are not hiding any information. But the questions didn’t mention anything about the cost of oil extraction operations. Furthermore, it’s not Bapco’s task to extract oil.”