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A delegation representing the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain on a visit to the People’s Republic of China met senior officials of the China National Energy Administration (NEA), and other major oil, gas and petrochemical company officials in the country. The visit was part of the meeting of the Joint Bahraini-Chinese Committee, established as per a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on the side lines of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s historic visit to China in September last year.

The Bahraini delegation was headed by Dr. Ahmed Ali Al Sharyan, the Secretary-General of National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), and included Anwar Salman Khalaf, Senior Advisor, Minister’s Office, and Mohammad Jaffer Al Sayyad, Director of Studies and International Relations. Other delegation members included Eng. Isa Janahi, Director of Petroleum Engineering and Eng. Abdulla Ali Juma, Senior Reliability Inspection from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) as well as Eng. Fadhel Malallah Al Ansari, General Manager, Manufacturing and Eng. Ahmed Mubarak Al Arabi, Material and Procurement Inspection from the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC).

Dr. Al Sharyan chaired the Bahraini side during the meeting, in the presence of the Bahraini Ambassador to China Dr. Anwar Al-Abdulla, while the Chinese side was headed by Dr. Yang Li, NEA Deputy Secretary General. The meeting was attended from the Chinese side by the NEA General Manager Dr. Liu Dishon and Deputy Director Mr. Zhang Yukinj and a number of senior officials. The meeting was held at the NEA headquarters, in the presence of 40 officials of the top oil, gas and petrochemical companies in China. The Bahraini delegation included representatives of its Economic Development Board office in Beijing, who will follow up with the agreements reached between the two sides with the Chinese companies.

In the opening session, the Bahraini delegation expressed gratitude and appreciation for the warm reception by the Chinese side and for setting up the joint committee for cooperation between Bahrain and China in the oil, gas and petrochemical fields. The two sides split into two specialist working groups, where the first team discussed upstream developments, which included exploration and production, while the second looked into downstream, including refining and petrochemical undertakings.

The two sides exchanged proposals about opportunities for joint unilateral or mutual cooperation. It included offshore exploration, modernization of the Bahrain Refinery, fuel transportation as well as procurement of electrical and electronic equipment in petroleum and petrochemical industries. The Bahraini delegation met with representatives of major Chinese oil companies specializing in upstream and downstream development and specialized investment firms for oil, gas and petrochemical projects.

On the second day of the visit, the delegation members led by Dr. Al Sharyan, met senior officials of the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), headed by Deputy Chief and the Engineer Dr. Sung Khi Mang. The two sides exchanged investment potentials, especially energy research in China to overcome physical obstacles to maximize oil extraction from old wells.

The Bahraini delegation also met senior company officials of Kerui Group, an oil giant, with 8,000 employees and operates in 57 countries around the world. The company, headquartered in Dongoing city, Shandong province, with the second largest oil field in China, screened a documentary showcasing its oil and gas exploration operations and expertise for the visiting delegation. The Chinese side was headed by Mr. Rong Kihwng Deputy Chief and the Geologist, and the Bahrain side by Dr. Al Sharyan. They exchanged notes about traditional wells drilled in Bahrain and agreed to organise field visits for the Kerui officials in Bahrain to continue work in the area.