Its new board has approved the drilling of 63 new wells this year and next, which is expected to increase oil production by 1,000 barrels per day. This is part of a plan to drill 700 development wells over 15 years, tapping into already discovered reserves in the Bahrain Field.
The board meeting was chaired by Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) chairman Dr Abdul Hussain Mirza, who is also the chairman of the Bapco board committee.
The meeting approved a development programme to drill 48 vertical wells and 15 horizontal wells during 2007-2008, Mirza said.
'Horizontal wells are being drilled for the first time, through the application of the most sophisticated techniques to enhance productivity from Bahrain Field,' he added.
'The current production in Bahrain is about 35,000 barrels per day, and the new wells will help enhance production by another 1,000 barrels per day.'
Mirza said the project would enable the Bahrain Field to maintain its production levels to meet Bahrain's future needs of electricity and various industrial projects and contribute to fostering the overall development programmes of the country.
Out of 800 wells now, only 650 are functional.
The drilling programme is being undertaken by six to seven international contractors. Mirza and other board members paid a field visit to the refinery units and the producing field to meet with the management and employees.
The board meeting, held at the refinery, followed up on decisions made during its previous seven meetings to ensure that all National Audit Court recommendations are implemented, he said. The board also discussed this year's operational and investment expenses, and adopted a number of resolutions.
'The board directed Bapco's executive management to the need for controlling and reducing operational expenses and expressed satisfaction with the positive results achieved in last year's operations,' said Mirza.
The board reviewed the investment and operational budget and Bapco's Strategic Investment Programme.
It also approved the operational and investment budgets for the current year, in addition to passing related directives to the executive management to comply with budget terms. The board discussed the practical steps of implementing the Low Sulphur Diesel Production (LSDP) Project to ensure compliance with global environment requirements, said Mirza.
'The meeting hailed the valued and ongoing support of Bahrain's wise leadership, and vowed to work hard to improve the performance and operations of Bapco in serving the national economy,' he added.
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