Q: One of the key projects for Bapco Energies is the Bapco Modernization Program (BMP) upgrade of the Sitra refinery. How is that progressing?

A: Of course this is our number one priority project right now. And I’m happy to say that we’re now nearing the final completion status of that project. We’re in that critical stage of commissioning and startup and that will be our focus for the next nine to twelve months.

By the end of this year, we’ll be introducing additional crude volumes into the refinery, so that’s the first big milestone for us. When I say we’re increasing crude volumes, what this means is we’re actually beginning the start up of the ‘front-end’ crude units, the distillation and the vacuum units, and that’s by the end of this year. So that is probably the biggest major milestone in the project for us.

The next step for us in the first quarter or early second quarter of 2025 is starting up the ‘back end’ of the refinery, the hydrocracker, the residual hydrocracker. Then we will start making the middle distillates and high-value products that we want: the kerosene, the diesel, the jet fuel. And so that’s major milestone number two.

Q: Part of the refinery upgrade includes the trading opportunities. How is Bapco Energies’ trading partnership with TotalEnergies developing? 

A: Right now, it is an unincorporated joint venture [MEES, 8 March], and we see it becoming an incorporated joint venture and a standalone entity next year.

It is already starting to — in a very simple way — trade products from the refinery. We’ve got twelve Bahrainis now in Geneva where they are now integrated into the trading floor of [Total’s trading arm] Totsa. That will develop further as we look forward to developing more complex trading strategies with Totsa as the BMP project comes up, more volume comes out, more products need to be placed.

Total is a global leader in many aspects of the energy value chain. There are opportunities that we’re talking about with them across our whole value chain beyond just trading. So, projects in renewables, projects in some new countries, potentially, these are all things that are under consideration. I would just say that today these opportunities are probably too early to describe. But we’re looking at the entire value chain and where the opportunities we can mutually benefit are.

Q: In the upstream sector, are there any updates on the Bahrain Field Oil and Gas Development Expansion project? (MEES, 16 August)

A: When it comes to oil from the Bahrain field [also known as the Awali field] we have a long and deep experience since Bahrain was the first country in the GCC to discover oil in 1932. Our resource base and our recovery from the Awali field is actually at the very low end of the scale, and so it’s a challenging set of resources and we’re constantly looking at ways through EOR to enhance recovery. We do have a focus on how to stabilize, if not increase our oil production.

But we’re constantly looking at developing additional resources. One key area is our unconventional Pre-Unayzah gas. We’ve been conducting an appraisal program on that which is now complete. We’re in the process of implementing a development program on those resources, which will see us develop additional reserves in Pre-Unayzah in 2025 with drilling across 2025 and 2026. It is not easy, of course: unconventional gas is never easy.

During appraisal we found out some very interesting things about the pre Unayzah gas and segmentation of the reservoir between the Jauf and Jubah [formations], between the east and west [portions of the field]. We haven’t released any resource estimates yet. But as I said, we’re now confident going into a development phase.

Q: And how about exploration? 

A: On the exploration side I’m happy to say that [preparation for] our offshore 3D seismic campaign is well underway. We expect to begin mobilizing into the kingdom in early 2025, if not late 2024. It’s a massive program: 4,500km2 of shooting from the north through the east, to the south, and a little bit on the west side [of Bahrain – see map, MEES, 8 November]. It’s the deepest seismic we’ve ever shot down to about 20,000 feet [6,000 meters] using seabed node based shallow water technology. If there are structures — and we’re confident that there may be — we will find them.

That’s the program for 2025 and 2026, shooting and interpretation, and then we could see as early as 2027 potentially bringing out the drill bit and trying to test some of the structures that we find.

Q: Is part of the hope to bring international partners into the offshore?

A: Exactly. This is the point, our actual geophysical coverage to date has been fairly limited and lower quality. So, to attract IOCs to come in using that quality of data is very difficult. That’s why we took the step of saying we will take on our own 3D seismic campaign. We’ll shoot it using absolutely the best technology available and we will then make that data available to IOCs, derisking their country entry, and then we’re very hopeful of having IOCs lined up at the door to come and explore in the kingdom of Bahrain.

Q: Another future opportunity for Bapco Energies is renewable energy. What are the company’s plans for renewable energy?

A: On the renewable side we’re looking at a diversified energy supply for the kingdom of Bahrain. We made an announcement earlier this year and we’re now in the pre-feasibility stage of looking at offshore wind with [UAE state renewables firm] Masdar in the kingdom of Bahrain [MEES, 3 May]. It’s now in the early stages of evaluation of where to locate it and what would be the requirements for a wind farm of up to 2GW. We are looking to complete the feasibility stage by early 2025, and then look at an actual development plan from there. We are also looking at the connectivity into Bahrain. Whether it is a connection into the grid or a direct connection to a high consumer of power.

Q: Do you have any plans for solar capacity?

A: We have a joint collaboration with Saudi Arabia, looking at the possibility of building a world class solar farm in the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia and then having a direct connection to the kingdom of Bahrain through a subsea cable. So that’s in the feasibility stage now. We would then take that green power generated and bring it into the kingdom of Bahrain, either into the grid directly, or potentially take it again to a consumer that has a high offtake.

This project has been announced through government-to-government cooperation agreements, MOUs without the specifics of the project. We are looking at everything that we can do to maximize the value of the kingdom’s natural resources while at the same time looking at the future and making sure that we’re powering the next generation.

*Interview conducted by Gulf Analyst James Marriott in Abu Dhabi on 5 November