The Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) is Bahrain’s national oil company, founded in 1929 following the discovery of oil at Jebel Dukhan — the first oil discovery in the Gulf region. BAPCO is the oldest petroleum company in the Arabian Gulf and has operated continuously for nearly a century.
History
BAPCO was originally established as a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of California (now Chevron). Oil production began in 1932, making Bahrain the first Gulf state to produce oil commercially. The Bahrain government gradually acquired full ownership, completing nationalisation in 1980. Today BAPCO is wholly owned by the Bahrain government through the holding company nogaholding (National Oil and Gas Authority).
Operations
BAPCO’s operations span upstream oil production and downstream refining. The company’s Sitra refinery is Bahrain’s sole refining facility, processing both domestic crude and crude imported from Saudi Arabia via pipeline. The refinery has undergone a major modernisation programme — the Bapco Modernisation Programme (BMP) — which increased refining capacity from approximately 267,000 barrels per day to approximately 380,000 barrels per day. The BMP, completed in the early 2020s, was one of the largest infrastructure investments in Bahrain’s history.
Production
Bahrain’s proven oil reserves are estimated at approximately 125 million barrels — a fraction of Abu Dhabi’s 98 billion barrels. Domestic production from the Bahrain Field averages approximately 45,000 barrels per day. However, Bahrain also receives revenue from the Abu Saafa offshore field, shared with Saudi Arabia, which produces approximately 300,000 barrels per day with revenues split equally between the two kingdoms.
Challenges
BAPCO operates under fundamentally different constraints than ADNOC. Bahrain’s reserves are limited and declining. The company cannot expand upstream production significantly. Its strategic value lies increasingly in refining capacity and the ability to process imported crude for regional markets.
Role in Vision 2030
Within the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, BAPCO’s role is to maximise value from Bahrain’s remaining hydrocarbon assets while the economy diversifies. The refinery modernisation extends the productive life of Bahrain’s refining infrastructure and creates higher-value products. BAPCO generates the government revenues that fund diversification programmes, even as those programmes are designed to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on the very revenues BAPCO provides.