Bahrain has awarded a seven-year contract to Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) to explore for natural gas deposits in the country, Abdul Hussain Mirza, the countrys oil minister said.
Mr. Mirza was speaking at the International Energy Forum taking place in Kuwait. He added that Oxy has already started exploration works.
Production to meet local demand
Oxy will drill three exploration wells during the first four years of the contract at its own expense, reported Bloomberg.
Bahrain is looking at developing the resources at depths between 15,000 and 20,000 feet as the country's plan to increase its gas production capacity to meet growth in local demand.
If gas is found then the two parties will devise a "formula for sharing the project," he said.
LNG import terminal
Bahrain will award a tender to build a liquefied natural (LNG) gas import terminal by the end of this year as it plans to import 400 million cubic feet of natural gas, Mr. Mirza said.
