Bahrain Petroleum signs agreement with ALSTOM for modernisation project

Bahrain Petroleum has signed a $ 31.8 mm agreement with France's ALSTOM Industrial Systems and Services to carry out an instrument modernisation project at its refinery, Bapco's CEO said. ALSTOM will carry out the engineering, procurement and construction of the project aimed at modernising the refinery's 30-year-old low sulphur fuel oil and fluid catalytic cracking complexes, Johann Lubbe said.
The two-phase project, which is scheduled to start in September and be completed in 2004, will improve efficiency and bring returns of up to $ 15 mm annually for the refinery, said Lubbe. The project is part of the $ 800 mm modernisation plan announced by the government in 1998 to modernise the 64-year-old refinery. Projects worth $ 100 mm have already been commissioned.
The refinery was built in 1936, four years after the discovery of oil in Bahrain. It has an output capacity of 250,000 bpd. Owned by the government, it is the only refinery on the island. The modernisation will enable the refinery to meet market demands and reduce maintenance costs.