MANAMA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain government on Sunday announced the discovery of a new tight oil and deep gas resource in the Khaleej Al Bahrain Basin, located off the west coast of the country.
This is the largest discovery of oil in the kingdom since 1932, when extraction started on Bahrain's first oil well within the Bahrain Oil Field.
The announcement was made by Bahrain's Higher Committee for Natural Resources and Economic Security, chaired by the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The new discovery, which is forecast to contain highly significant quantities of tight oil and deep gas and believed to dwarf Bahrain's current reserves, follows a recent uplift in oil and gas exploration projects.
Detailed analysis of the resource is underway to reveal its content, size and extraction viability, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.
"Today we announce that initial analysis demonstrates the find is at substantial levels, capable of supporting the long-term extraction of tight oil and deep gas," Khalifa said.
The government confirmed that modelling and analytical studies are ongoing, led by Bahrain's National Oil and Gas Authority working alongside private sector partners.
