Bahrain’s Future Distillate Surge To Plug Refining Gaps In Europe And Africa

22 Mar 2024 Issue: 67 / 12 By: James Marriott

Bahrain is chasing improved downstream margins on the back of the upgrade of its Sitra refinery. With the Middle East emerging as a refining hub amid capacity declines elsewhere, Bahrain will be eying Europe and Africa as markets for its next generation of distillate-led oil products.

Six years ago, Bahrain was hopeful its upstream sector was going to headline a new chapter in the small island’s hydrocarbon industry with the 2018 discovery of the gigantic Khalij al-Bahrain unconventional oil and gas reserve. But hope eventually faded as the resource was deemed uneconomic (MEES, 20 May 2022).

Now Bahrain has shifted its focus firmly to its downstream plans. BapcoEnergies recently announced a partnership with French major TotalEnergies to cooperate on setting up a trading arm and finishing a long-awaited $7bn upgrade to the 267,000 b/d Sitra refinery (MEES, 8 March). Dubbed Bapco Modernization Project (BMP), the upgrade project aims to boost Sitra’s nameplate capacity to 400,000 b/d and shift the refinery away from heavier products in favor of profitable middle distillates. (CONTINUED - 851 WORDS)