Page 12 - MEOG Week 21

MEOG ProJeCts & ComPanIes MEOG
Bahrain plans new oil exploration push
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COMPANIES in Bahrain are to be invited to work with national firms to explore the 2,000 square km tight oil and deep gas resources in the Khalij Al Bahrain Basin, said Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
The 2018 discovery of the largest oil and gas find since 1932 off Bahrain’s west coast is esti- mated to contain at least 80bn barrels of tight oil.
A virtual roadshow will soon be hosted by Bahrain in a bid to attract international compa- nies for the development of new oil reserves.
The minister also said that despite the corona- virus (COVId-19) outbreak and low oil prices, he remained “optimistic”, expecting demand to pick up in the coming months as global travel restrictions are eased.
“Asweentered2020thepriceswereinthe$65 rangeandnobodyhadanideaofthispandemic,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “We saw a sharp drop in demand and I think April was one of the worst periods in the oil industry, as we lost 25mn bar- rels of demand. And for the first time, we saw negative pricing on West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude, which nobody really expected.”
In March the OPEC decided to reduce oil production by 9.7mn barrels per day (bpd) from May 1 for an initial period of two months.
The hope is that the global pandemic will soon recede and the economy will flourish again. The minister, who was speaking at a virtual majlis (council) organised by the American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain, said the situa- tion was slowly returning to normal with global economies opening up and flight resumptions
coming on the radar.
“The good news is that the surplus supply
of 25mn barrels is now closer to 6mn, which indicates demand is picking up,” he said. “How- ever, we have to wait until June to see any real improvements.”
He explained that they were hoping for a V-shaped recovery by the second quarter, add- ing that it is imperative for people to resume travelling and get back to doing business. “Our projects continue to [proceed], of course there are austerity measures which are critical, as the entire region is doing it,” he said.
“But for now, I think we remain optimistic thatthesituationisverystable.”
Sheikh Mohammed also discussed ongoing work at the four offshore exploration blocks, covering an area of 9,000 sq km. “We are doing a lot of work here and looking into a few appraisal wells and deep gas resources,” he said.
“We plan to hold a virtual roadshow soon and welcome companies to approach us and we will grant them access to our virtual data room.”
However, he revealed that drilling in the first exploratory well in Block 1 by Italian energy company Eni had been postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the travel restrictions.
“Hopefully in the coming weeks we will have clarity, but the equipment is ready for drilling the first exploration well in Block 1,” he added.
He said they were aiming to drill more appraisal wells, adding they were “looking to see much bigger numbers in terms of commercial reserves”.
“I like to look for signs of hope amidst these challenges, as there will be opportunities in the sector as oil prices are going to improve,” said Sheikh Mohammed.
As for the recently discovered Block 4, he said it is located in the Gulf of Bahrain where drilling of the experimental well was completed.
The well began to flow last year and it will be added to the production systems soon, added the minister.
Meanwhile, the minister also spoke about ongoing projects to use renewable energy in government buildings and social welfare houses. “The idea is to achieve a more efficient consump- tion of electricity and we have installed solar panels in pilot buildings and social houses,” he said. “I think we’ve achieved [a] 3% reduction in consumption.”
The Gulf daily News has reported on plans to fulfil the goals of the national strategy that aims to optimise energy efficiency by 6% and attain 5% of total energy production from renewable energy by 2025.
The national blueprint also aspires to improve the rate of contribution of renewable energy to 15% by 2035, alongside other efforts to boost fossil-fuel energy.
The National Renewable Energy Action Plan and the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan aim to save energy worth BHd230mn ($600mn).™
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Week 21 27•May•2020