MANAMA: Tatweer Petroleum said it would sign agreements within a few weeks with Italian oil major ENI and Japan’s JX Nippon to develop the Bahrain field.
Tatweer was also in talks with JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration Corporation for enhanced oil recovery development in part of the Bahrain field reservoirs, Tatweer chief executive James Kenneth Eastlack said, adding that he hoped the Japanese firm would submit a proposal for two or three projects soon.
“We expect to sign an exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) with ENI within the next two weeks on offshore Block One,” Mr Eastlack told Reuters.
Tatweer had been producing about 43,000 barrels per day (bpd) and expected to continue at that level in 2019, he said, adding that it was expected to rise to 44,000 bpd in 2020.
Last year Bahrain announced the discovery of its largest oil and gas find since 1932, estimated to contain at least 80 billion barrels of tight oil, also known as shale oil.
A GDN report last month quoted Oil Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa as saying that talks were ongoing with US oil firms having expertise in extracting shale oil, using techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Mr Eastlack said he had visited Houston, Texas, to discuss potential investment opportunities in Bahrain.
“Several companies expressed keen interest during our Houston meetings, and there will be a follow up in the next six to eight months,” the official said.
Tatweer had hired Citibank to help share data in order to market prospects for the new field, he said.
The first of two test wells is expected to start flowing by mid-summer, slightly later than the original target at the end of this month.
Bahrain has about 124.6 million barrels of proven reserves and earns revenues from two fields, the onshore Bahrain field and offshore Abu Safah field, which is shared with Saudi Arabia.
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