Insight Conversation: Mark Thomas, Bapco Energies

What’s latest in the development of Bahrain’s unconventional reserves and the path to bringing these reserves to commercial production and export?

We are continuing exploration and appraisal activities to better understand the commercial potential of Bahrain’s unconventional reserves. Our focus remains on data acquisition and analysis to determine viable paths forward. We are making progress, but we are taking a disciplined and technically robust approach before committing to full-scale development or exports.

Is the current oil price environment sufficient to make the unconventional reserves economical?

While current prices are encouraging, the economics of unconventional development in Bahrain depend on a range of factors including drilling technology, infrastructure costs and reservoir performance.  

We are working with international partners to assess how best to commercialize these resources efficiently and sustainably.

What are some of the key projects Bapco Energies is working on to help Bahrain achieve its 2060 net-zero target?

We’re advancing a portfolio of strategic initiatives that support our 2060 net-zero commitment. These include a 2 GW offshore wind project in collaboration with Masdar, a major solar park development in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expansion of power and gas imports to diversify supply and reduce emissions, optimization of existing assets through deployment of cleaner technologies, the Bapco Modernization Project, which enhances efficiency and lowers emissions at the refinery and investing in innovative energy startups aligned with our decarbonization goals through BeVentures, our venture capital arm.

Bapco recently announced a gas deal with US-based EOG Resources. What fields will be explored with EOG and what details can you share about this partnership?

The Awali field has been a valuable resource for the Kingdom of Bahrain for many years, although it is not a completely homogeneous reservoir. Certain zones within the field – particularly the deeper and tighter formations – present more complex development challenges. To address this, we have partnered with EOG, whose expertise and advanced technology are helping us unlock these gas resources for the benefit of the kingdom. In parallel, we have launched a major exploration program and are currently acquiring seismic data across Bahrain’s offshore areas to better assess future development potential.

Recent advancements in big data analytics have significantly enhanced our ability to visualize subsurface structures and improve the predictability of exploration leads. We are optimistic that these upgrades in seismic data interpretation will lead to the identification of exciting new prospects worthy of further assessment.

What is the status of the Bapco Refining expansion and what markets do you aim to serve?

The Bapco Refining expansion, also known as the Bapco Modernization Project (BMP) was inaugurated by His Majesty the King of Bahrain in December 2024, with commissioning activities progressing steadily.

This strategic expansion will elevate the refinery’s capacity and complexity, allowing us to serve growing markets across Asia, Africa and Europe with cleaner, higher-value refined products.

When do you expect the refinery to be able to process other crudes than domestic Bahrain crude and Arab Light and Arab Medium?

Our upgraded facilities are designed to handle a broader crude slate. Once the BMP is fully operational, we expect to begin trial runs of other regional and international crudes, giving us greater flexibility in feedstock sourcing and product optimization

What is the production of Bapco Upstream and where do you see opportunities to develop?

Awali currently produces approximately 38,000 b/d of oil and around 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas. In addition, we continue to produce approximately 175,000 b/d from the Abu Safa field.

Our partnership with EOG is a strong example of our ongoing efforts to replenish reserves. We are optimistic about increasing gas production through EOG’s development plan targeting deeper, tighter gas formations.

Within the Awali field, there remain additional reservoirs – such as those with heavy oil potential – that could benefit from specialized expertise and advanced technologies. We are actively seeking the right development partnerships, potentially through collaborations similar to that with EOG.

We are also continuing to appraise the KAB deposits, which are predominantly offshore and classified as unconventional resources. While the development has presented some challenges, we remain confident that ongoing drilling, testing and analysis will lead to viable solutions.

Looking ahead, we are hopeful that our exploration program will uncover promising new prospects that could open up a fresh chapter for Bapco Energies’ upstream growth.

When will the 2 GW wind project with Masdar start operating and what is your goal on renewables capacity by 2030 compared with what is today’s capacity?

The offshore wind project with Masdar is currently in the advanced planning and pre-development phase. We aim to have it operational before 2030. Today, Bahrain has limited installed renewable capacity but with this project and others in the pipeline, we’re targeting several gigawatts of clean energy generation by the end of the decade.

Do you see any opportunities in developing new products such as sustainable aviation fuel in your Bapco Air Fueling or Bapco Tazweed?

We are actively exploring low-carbon fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel, as part of our decarbonization strategy.

Bapco Air Fueling continues to serve Bahrain International Airport with high-quality jet fuel, and Bapco Tazweed operates a growing network of 22 fuel service stations across the kingdom.

While domestic expansion remains a priority, we are assessing regional opportunities for future growth.

Let’s talk about BeVentures. Where do you see investment opportunities?

BeVentures is building a strong investment pipeline focused on emerging technologies, within the clean energy, digital energy and energy transition space. Our mandate is to support Bahrain’s national energy strategy by investing in ventures that can scale, complement and create efficiencies for our core operations as well as opportunities within the energy transition space.

BeVentures is well positioned to work closely with neighboring national oil companies as well as with global energy startups, placing Bahrain as an energy sandbox for the region being a host for pilots and use cases for innovative energy startups globally.

This interview was first published in the May 2025 edition of Commodity Insights Magazine