As a holding company investor we believe that opportunity exists by supporting investments in capacity ahead of high growth periods says Noga chairman Dr Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza

Nogaholding came into being some 18 months ago out of Bahrain’s decision to set up a $2.6-billion oil and gas holding company aiming to reduce the government’s role in the energy sector. As a strategic entity the company is investing its funds in the ownership of existing and new ventures within or outside the kingdom.

Bapco is continuing to expand and develop its facilities in its bid to become a world-leading refinery, while setting new standards in environmental excellence. Chief executive Abdulkarim Al-Sayed talks to OGN about the company’s growth strategies

Abdulkarim Al-Sayed, chief executive of Bapco, is in a confident mood as he surveys a significant year of achievement for the national oil company, which remains a powerhouse for Bahrain’s national economy and continues to implement strategies for sustainable long-term growth.

Bapco continues to make waves with a key environmental project which gives us cleaner air and water, while boosting its operations and profitability

When Bapco commissioned a cutting-edge refinery gas desulphurisation project (RGDP) in January this year, it marked another milestone in its vision to turn the refinery into one the greenest and cleanest in the world. 

Today, Bapco is at the forefront of process technology with the coming on-stream of the Low Sulphur Diesel Plant (LSDP). This enables the company to enter new markets, especially those in Europe, with the most environmentally-friendly products available

THE theme of Bapco’s 2008 Annual Review is Serving the world to serve Bahrain. The theme has been chosen to reflect Bapco’s growing stature as a reliable provider of quality petroleum products to the international marketplace.

It is not the strongest that will survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change – that means having a dynamic organisation, and GPIC epitomises that entirely, says GPIC general manager AbdulRahman Jawahery

THE Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) does not see job cuts either in the short-term or the long-term as a result of the global slowdown affecting petrochemical industries.

The company has been able to increase its contributions to the local community, a policy trend that is strongly supported by the UN, which urges all concerned worldwide to comply with it under the title of ‘corporate responsibility’

THE Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) has announced that it won for the second successive time the Saudi Arabian Award for Environmental Management organised by the Arab Organisation for Management Development, one of the leading Arab League agencies.

The company is working closely with Noga to find more ways and means to utilise the import of gas to develop the industrial sector, says Banagas general manager Dr Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa

THE Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas), 75 per cent owned by the government of Bahrain, 12.5 per cent by Caltex Bahrain and 12.5 per cent by the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation achieved record sales of $272 million in 2008 and was able to contribute over $150 million to the national economy.

Banagas produces approximately 3,000 barrels of propane, 2,700 barrels of butane and 4,500 barrels of naphtha per day and these products are exported to various parts of the world where they are used as industrial and domestic fuel

BANAGAS operates LPG plant facilities to recover propane, butane and naphtha from oil wells associated gas, Arab gas and refinery gas. Liquefied propane and butane are transferred to refrigerated storage for ship loading at the Sitra Wharf. Naphtha is sent to the Bahrain Petroleum Refinery (Bapco) for storage and subsequent export.

Shell has the largest and most geographically diverse LNG portfolio among the major energy firms which provides Bahrain with access to experience in every aspect of the business

The National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell International Gas and Power Limited to explore the feasibility of various gas initiatives in the kingdom.

Whoever wins the tender will be looking for gas in the pre-Khuff formation of the Bahrain Field, at depths of between 15,000 and 20,000 feet

BAHRAIN is set to launch a licencing round for its deep onshore gas zones, a top government official says.

As an expert system, Zerotech Advisor can guide one’s operators through adjustments, fixes, and restorations much like a skilled engineer would

ZEROTECH, a worldwide consulting and engineering group specialising in industrial automation and control systems, and power transmission and distribution has launched Zerotech Advisor, a powerful way to enhance the performance of highly complex industrial processes, by enabling your operators to respond quickly – and effectively – to the difficulties and problems that typically arise in everyday operations.

Furmanite selected pipe freezing as the preferred method to isolate the line and facilitate the valve replacement, due to the limited access around the pipework

SHUTDOWN of two plants was avoided for Sabic’s Saudi Arabian Fertiliser Company (Safco), when pipe freezing expertise from specialist technical and engineering services company Furmanite enabled a valve replacement to take place while the plant remained live.

The two majors will build a $400 million plant that will produce and market high performance lube-based oil

Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) has established a joint venture with Finlands Neste Oil, Bahrain Base Oil Company, to build a high-quality lubricant base oils plant in the kingdom.

The company has been a partner in the Middle East and North Africa for four decades, working with the governments of Bahrain, Libya, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Yemen

US FIRM Occidental (Oxy) has beaten rivals ExxonMobil and Denmark’s Maersk to a contract to boost oil production from Bahrain’s tiny Awali field, according to a top Bahraini government official.

Today’s air filters and air filtration systems have come a long way in protecting turbo machinery, says Terry O Brown, the owner of Gas Turbine Systems

ALTHOUGH the air filter “element” determines the quality of the ingested air, the filtration “system” is paramount in allowing that to happen.

Today, the industry’s biggest players in the Middle East count on Latin American talent

LATIN American Human Resources (LHR) was established in 2001, and ever since it has been servicing the Middle Eastern market.

RPO integrates the vertical production execution workflow across departments and empowers decision makers to organise their work quickly and efficiently

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has recently announced the release of Real-Time Production Organiser (RPO). RPO is a suite of manufacturing execution system (MES) platform packages that integrate the vertical production execution workflow across departments and empower decision makers to organise their work quickly and efficiently.

Pan Gulf Welding Solutions (PGWS), a subsidiary of Saudi Pan Gulf, won orders worth over $1.9m at the Gulf Industrial Fair 2009 in Bahrain

PAN Gulf Welding Solutions (PGWS), a subsidiary of the diversified business group Saudi Pan Gulf, is flushed with the commercial success it got at the recently held Gulf Industrial Fair 2009 in Bahrain.

The JV will bid for engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) projects in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries

SAUDI Arabia’s Rawabi Holding Company (RHC) has formed a joint venture with Singapore’s Swiber Offshore Construction Ltd (SOC) named Rawabi Swiber Offshore Construction Company Limited (RSOC).