Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
AS Bapco celebrates its 75th anniversary of oil exploration in the kingdom today, Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa will inaugurate the launch of low sulphur diesel production (LSDP) facility to mark the beginning of landmark technical step in the oil refining industry.
The ceremony will be held at the Bapco refinery site. The LSDP facility costing $725 million (BD270.83 million) was implemented by Japan's JGC Corporation and is one of Bapco's strategic and most complex projects it has undertaken in many years.
"The project will serve as an important source of revenue and is one of the initiatives to modernise the refinery and enhance its competitiveness.
"The project's oil products will be compatible with international environmental laws and is expected to contribute to the sustainable development the kingdom is striving to achieve," said Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and chairman of National Oil and Gas Authority.
The project was commissioned in June 2007 and today it is expected to increase the annual revenue of Bapco by $300 million (BD112.1 million), a staggering 30 per cent return on investment.
This is achieved due to the project's advantages of yielding the more valuable refinery products and increased efficiency which will produce 100,000 barrels per day of ultra-low sulphur diesel by reducing the sulphur content from an average of 0.65 per cent to 0.001 per cent.
The LSDP Project forms the main element of Bapco's $1.233 billion Strategic Investment Programme.
Bapco evaluated all the latest technology for the investment. It is made up of four main units: Hydrocracker, Hydrogen Plant, Sulphur Plant and No.2 HDU Revamp. At the peak of its construction, the project had over 3,000 people working on it.
The logistics of Bapco's latest project was in itself an engineering feat. The centrepiece of the LSDP Project is the 60,000 barrels per day hydrocracker, which is one of the largest in the world.
At the heart of this unit are two large reactors. The first reactor weighs over 1,000 tons and the second over 400 tons.
Transporting this super-heavy equipment was a major challenge and took over a month to complete.
Two cranes were required for the lifting and positioning of the reactors which took four weeks to build and the journey by sea barge from Mina Salman to Muharraq Jetty took six hours as the vessel travelled at less than 1mph.
Bapco has been the forerunner of Middle East oil industry and with projects like LSD it strives to stay one step ahead of the game.
For the last 75 years, Bapco has been quick to adapt to the fast-paced trends of the petroleum industry and has planned ahead for future challenges.
Today, the company can boast one of the most sophisticated refineries in the world, with a dedication to the environment that would put it a notch above many refineries in Europe, Asia and the US.
Bapco plans to expand its refinery and add a further 700 wells in the next 15 years.
Bahraini oil production is expected to be doubled by the middle of 2008 after the development of offshore reserves, with total output expected to reach 700,000 barrels a day.
According to Dr Mustafa Al Sayed, chief executive of Bapco: "The last 75 years have been extremely successful, and Bapco is now in a good position, but I think the real developments will be seen in the next 75 years. Bapco is really passing through a very exciting time."
A book titled, Bapco 75 Years of Progress celebrating Bapco's presence in the kingdom will be available at the inauguration ceremony.
The book charts the early days of the oil refinery, highlights its innumerable achievements and its impact on Bahraini economy and the society as a whole.
