CEO's Message

Dr Edward Hanley Chief Executive Officer

I am pleased to welcome you to our new website hoping that you find it informative and enjoyable to read and please do not hesitate to give us your comments and remarks about it.

I am so pleased to report that Tatweer Petroleum posted an excellent performance in 2010, far exceeding expectations for a new company in its first year of operations. We had a challenging and successful twelve months, which allowed us to achieve our major business goals and objectives.

Smooth integration
The handover of the Bahrain Field on 1 December 2009 from its previous custodian – Bahrain Petroleum Company was executed very smoothly and I  would like to thank Bapco for their helpful cooperation. Equally, smooth ,the speedy integration of seconded staff from Bapco, Occidental and Mubadala, and new staff recruited during 2010 was also well accomplished in a short period of time. The teamwork approach by all employees during the year, illustrates a shared commitment to achieving Tatweer’s vision of ‘energizing growth and prosperity for Bahrain.

Another key achievement was the fast development of a robust support infrastructure by the teams from Human Resources, Information Technology, HSE, Finance, Supply Chain and Quality Assurance. These shared services are critical business enablers for the Company, and their concerted efforts enabled the Production Operations and Field Development teams to commence their activities as quickly as possible, in order to meet their challenging oil and gas production targets for the year. 

Record production
The production results for oil and gas in 2010 constitute another significant achievement. The monthly average production rate of black oil & Condensate for  December 2010 was 37,616 bpd, ( 33,734 bpd black oil & 3,882 bpd condensate) which set a new growth record of approx. 24 per cent from January 2010 for the Bahrain Field. Production capacity of non-associated gas of approx. 1.5 bscfd also reached record levels, more than meeting the Kingdom’s peak demand for gas. The increase in oil production rate during the year signifies the start of reversing the historical field production decline, which prevailed over the past four decades. Supporting this production increase was the drilling of 27 new oil wells, record hook-up times, and 197 well stimulation treatments; plus the drilling of three new gas wells, and the commissioning of five new gas dehydration units. Again, this illustrated a real team effort by various departments in areas such as field operations, production technology and engineering, subsurface, drilling and facilities operations.

HSE commitment
Underlying our goal to increase production is our commitment to operate safely and in an environmentally sound manner. We adopt industry-leading practices to ensure the safety and health of our employees, contractors and neighbors, and to constantly enhance our efforts to protect the environment. Tatweer implemented a comprehensive training and awareness program, and held over 4,000 hours of HSE training in 2010. Encouragingly, the number of reported incidents by Tatweer employees and contractors was well under the target incident rate during the year, while reportable spills were significantly lower than the annual target.

Challenges
The Bahrain Field is a giant and complex field with many distinct oil and gas reservoirs. After nearly eight decades of production using traditional recovery methods, and with a declining output in recent years, Tatweer undertook a detailed study of each reservoir to determine the full potential of the Field. New enhanced oil recovery techniques such as water flooding and steam injection are being considered for the extraction of heavy oil for the first time in the Field’s history. Additional investment will be made in new water and gas treatment facilities, and the development of a dedicated power grid for the Field. Automation will also be expanded to allow greater monitoring of real-time surveillance of production assets across the Field. The use of latest recovery technologies will enable Tatweer to meet its long-term objective of tripling oil production and doubling the availability of non-associated gas.

Another challenge lies in the unique nature of the Field. Covering almost 80 per cent of the main island, the Bahrain Field is not fenced off, and has been steadily encroached upon by urbanization. In addition, there is the annual camping season from November to March, which brings thousands of visitors to the Field. and this requires Tatweer to seek mutually beneficial solutions to such problems. These include developing an Environmental Permitting Strategy in close collaboration with the General Directorate of Environmental and Wildlife Protection and working in cooperation with the Southern Governorate to educate campers and fence off areas of a potentially dangerous nature, and erecting barriers in advance of new drilling operations.

Partners in progress
With a total investment in 2010 of US$ 345 million and contractual commitments exceeding US$ 1 billion, Tatweer is a significant contributor to the growth of the national economy. An underlying principle of the DPSA is to give preference to local contractors, merchants and the business community in terms of procurement and partnering; and to give priority to Bahrainis in terms of employment and transfer of technology.. This will be achieved not just by increasing oil production but also by extending the productive life of the Bahrain Field for the benefit of future generations.

In conclusion, I take this opportunity to thank our Board of Directors for their guidance and support; and pay tribute to our management team and staff for their sterling efforts and ‘can-do’ approach during our first year of operations.