Gas Tenders on Way
May 18, 2009
Manama, Bahrain
At least 19 international oil companies have shown interest in exploring for deep offshore gas deposits in Bahrain, it emerged yesterday.
And there could be two more to follow, Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza said.
Dr Mirza, who is also chairman of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), said that interested companies would be invited to submit their bids this month.
"The winner of the bidding round will take on the full cost of exploration," he said. "In case of a commercial discovery, a sharing formula between the winner and the government will apply."
In an interview with Oxford Business Group (OBG), Dr Mirza said he believed gas requirements were likely to go up since demand was set to increase from both industrial giants and the domestic population. It was for this reason, he said, that the government remained committed to exploring gas at full capacity.
He said that Noga was looking at various ways of increasing gas supplies.
The first option, already in motion, was to increase gas production in Bahrain's own field.
Noga was also considering importing gas supplies from both Iran and Qatar, he said, and in addition would explore the possibilities of shipping in liquefied natural gas.
The interview will appear in The Report: Bahrain 2009, which is OBG's latest in-depth report marking the group's fifth year in Bahrain.
In the report, Dr Mirza remains bullish on Bahrain's economy, despite Moody's recent decision to downgrade the country's outlook.
Bahrain has always been a cautious economic force, with conservative budget plans, he said.
"As a result of this prudent approach and thanks to the new developments within Noga, I am confident that the country is in a strong position to weather the crisis," he said.
"There is a great deal going on right now and it is fair to say that the whole oil and gas sector has been rejuvenated."
Source: Gulf Daily News For more information, please contact the Office of the Economic Representative via e-mail info@bahraingateway.org or by telephone at (202) 537-7810.
