Bapco refinery ‘will be one of the world’s best’

MANAMA: Bahrain will have one of the best oil refineries in the world in four years after the completion of Bapco refinery expansion project, said Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

Bahrain is keen to employ the most advanced technologies and modern environmental standards in Bapco refinery expansion project, which started nine months ago and will be completed in four years. Bapco is also set to increase production by 40 per cent by 2022, the Oil Minister said as he inaugurated the Barrel Technology Conference (BBTC) series yesterday in Bahrain.

Top executives from national oil and gas companies and affiliates of Gulf oil companies and engineers from across the globe are taking part in the conference. The two-day event is being organised by Euro Petroleum Consultants and Bapco in co-operation with the National Oil and Gas Authority.

The BBTC series, being held under the theme “The best solutions to raise the level of petroleum waste,” has the backing of international oil companies in the GCC region.

Shaikh Mohammed highlighted the importance of remaining fuel oil in the energy industry in the region, especially in light of challenges facing oil refineries and the treatment of heavy materials in the overall utilisation of remaining oil from the distillation products.

“It is encouraging to see that the theme of the conference is on the topics of improving environmentally friendly technologies, such as advanced trends in gaining carbon or enhanced oil recovery in the refining industry,” he said.

“Oil refineries are looking for low-cost projects with high returns projects, such as removing bottlenecks and improving the infrastructure, production and competitive products.”

The minister pointed out that these restrictions pose a challenge to refineries, which require planning for what should be done towards the high sulphate content in residual oil, which requires refineries to work quickly and take investment decisions on the treatment of the residual oil.

“The refining industry is witnessing a qualitative shift in world markets as a result of recommendations of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Marpol) to reduce the proportion of sulphur in fuel for ships, as well as continue changes in energy demand and the growth of the world economy and new challenges such as electric cars,” Shaikh Mohammed said.

He pointed out that the marine fuel also witnessed rapid changes as a result of the decision of the International Maritime Organisation to reduce sulphur content in marine fuel used in open seas from 3.5 per cent to 0.5pc expected to become effective in 2020.

During the two-day event, experts will shed light on legislative and environmental regulations and the most important investment decisions on the treatment of the residual oil as well as plans to reach solutions to make the remaining oil possible, economically feasible and eco-friendly.

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/444100