Bahrain: Occidental set for exploration at Bahrain field

27 Sep 2011
US oil giant Occidental will begin drilling for gas at the Bahrain field, Energy Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza said. 'Cabinet approval for the deal has been received and a royal decree is set to be issued this week,' Dr Mirza said. 'Immediately after that, the company will start work.'


Bahrain field
'This is a major step forward for Bahrain's oil and gas industry,' he said, speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to open the Middle East Oil Show and Conference at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

'We will now be able to drill deeper than ever before,' he said. 'Occidental will carry out drilling for gas at depths of up to 20,000 feet=6095 m and Bahrain would not be charged for the operations since all drilling costs would be borne by the company for the first seven years by then it would be known whether they have found results.' He said if gas were to be found, there would be a negotiation process but if there is no gas, it would not be a loss to Bahrain.

Dr Mirza said, however, the cost of operations to the company over the seven-year period could be between $100-200 million. Bahrain had, in February, signed the deep gas exploration and production sharing agreement with Occidental.

The deal is also part of 12 National Oil and Gas Authority-led initiatives to optimise the use of natural resources and ensure sufficient gas supplies to meet future needs. The deep-gas exploration will last seven years - a four-year phase followed by a second three-year stage. The US company won the contract, beating three other bidding firms.

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Source: Gulf Daily News ============ Did Guardian cave to pressure from Bahrain? Story critical of the regime removed from site January 31, 2012 in Comments which are off-topic, ad hominem, racist, vulgar or include threats of violence will be deleted | Tags: Bahrain, Guardian, John Lubbock, Nabeel Rajab | by Adam Levick H/T Dave Thanks to the internet, nothing really ever disappears. As such, here’s a screen capture of a Guardian report on Jan. 30 titled “Bahrain has failed to adopt reform: So why is the Grand Prix going ahead?“, which is no longer on their site. A rather important story for genuine human rights activists in the Arab world, don’t you think? The arrest and torture of human rights activists and political dissidents: Apartheid practiced against an indigenous population; a complete lack of due process, and outrage by activists at the attempt to legitimize such a despotic regime by allowing them to host an internationally prestigious sporting event?

Such a story, which holds Arab rulers accountable for their continued violations of basic human rights, and make a mockery of the spirit of the much vaunted “Arab Spring”, is very much outside the box given the Guardian’s Judeocentric view of human rights abuses in the region. However, when you go to the link now, this is what you find: What happened? Well, per the report’s authors, Nabeel Rajab and John Lubbock, the Guardian is being threatened with legal action by Bahrain. Here’s Lubbock’s Tweet: Truly remarkable. An institution which prides itself on “speaking truth to power” caves to pressure from a Bahrain PR Firm (perhaps the PR firm responsible for promoting the Grand Prix event?), or the regime itself, and completely removes a piece critical of the country. The hypocrisy is stunning. While, based on Lubbock’s Tweets, it appears that the piece may be re-posted in some form, can anyone remember a similar case involving Israel, where the Guardian removed a defamatory piece about the Jewish state due to threats from the Israeli government, or even following substantial evidence of factual errors? Yes, it’s a rhetorical question.