Drilling for oil to begin in 2019

Manama, Jan. 13 (BNA): Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa announce that the National Oil and Gas Authority, in a few weeks, would finalize terms of the concession contract to be signed with Eni SpA, an Italian energy company primarily operating in petroleum, natural gas, and petrochemicals, on exploring oil and gas in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s northern maritime bloc. The Oil Minister told the press, on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the MoU between the National Oil and Gas Authority and Eni SpA, that the Italian company would initiate drilling for the first oil exploratory well in the northern maritime bloc (No. 1) during the current year, after getting the approval of the Higher Committee for Natural Resources, Cabinet, Shura and Representatives councils on the draft law before sealing the final contract between the two sides. The Minister expressed optimism about exploring more oil and gas resources in the northern maritime bloc, hoping the Italian company would accomplish more successes in the northern maritime bloc as it has closely working with the Kingdom of Bahrain during the past few years on studying the same bloc. He said the National Oil and Gas Authority, in cooperation with Petroleum Development Company (Tatweer), would conduct studies on more oil and energy discoveries in the next few years.