Bahrain has pressed pause on its ambitious offshore unconventional project, Khalij al-Bahrain (KAB), and is instead focusing on deep onshore gas in a bid to push back a looming supply deficit. The decision is a blow to Bahrain’s oil and gas sector, which was revitalized by the 2018 announcement of the unconventional play, which Energy Minister Sheikh Muhammad Al Khalifa estimated had some 80bn barrels oil in place (MEES, 6 April 2018).
Mark Thomas, CEO of state energy holding company Nogaholding, tells MEES on the sidelines of this week’s MPGC conference in Manama that right now the technically challenging project is not economically viable. Mr Thomas says that this is due to a combination of the tight reservoir and the offshore location. While the reservoir – which is largely analogous with the Jafurah Basin in neighboring Saudi Arabia – is developable, the challenge of doing so offshore is currently too great. (CONTINUED - 879 WORDS)
