Bahrainisation ratio exceeds 80pc in oil sector

Manama : Bahraini citizens working in the oil companies operating in the Kingdom of Bahrain are the highest compared with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) national oil companies, revealed Energy Minister Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza here yesterday.

According to the Minister, Bahrainisation in the oil companies receives a great deal of attention. “It has reached in some of the companies affiliated with NOGA to 99pc as the case is in Bahrain Aircraft Fueling Company (BAFCO),” he informed. 

“Generally, the ratio of Bahrainisation in the oil companies has reached an average of 80pc of the total workforce. In Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) it reached 79pc, in Gulf Petrochemical Industry Company (GPIC) it reached 83.4pc, in Bahrain National Gas Company (Bangas) it reached 90pc and in Bahrain Petroleum Development Company (Tatweer) it reached 73pc,” he explained. 

Commenting on the projects, Dr. Mirza said the strategic energy projects are supported by the Kingdom’s leadership, adding that “from accumulated experience Bahrain is capable of efficiently coping with global oil market upheavals.”

“Bahrain is keen to make remarkable progress in terms of construction and development of strategic and infrastructure projects to meet the increasingly growing demand on energy. We are currently implementing an array of projects aimed to boost and diversify the sources of energy,” the Minister pointed out. 

He explained that these projects are part of the estimated at $32 billion investment fund announced by the Economic Development Board (EDB), including the Refinery Modernisation Project which will boost Bahrain’s refining capacity from 260,000 to 360,000 barrels per day. “The new oil pipeline project between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as well as Bahrain Harbour for Liquefied Natural Gas (BHLNG) project with a preliminarily estimated capacity of 400 million cubic feet expandable to 800 million cubic feet scheduled to become operational in 2018,” he said. 

“Electricity and Water Authority (EWA)-implem-ented infrastructure deve-lopment projects will boost the power supply grid capacity to 400 kilovolts, in addition to launching a series of substations, securing the power connection process, all of which will considerably ensure the kingdom’s energy supply needs,” Dr. Mirza  added.