Bahrain makes largest oil discovery

DUBAI (AFP) — Bahrain on Sunday announced it has discovered the largest oil and gas field in the history of the small kingdom, which unlike its Gulf neighbors is not energy-rich.

“The new resource is forecast to contain highly significant quantities of tight (light crude) oil and deep gas, dwarfing Bahrain’s current reserves,” said the country’s Higher Committee for Natural Resources, which is chaired by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad.

The find in the Khaleej al-Bahrain, off the west coast, was “the largest discovery of oil in the country’s history,” it said in a statement.

Prince Salman tweeted that a press conference on Wednesday would “provide additional details on the discovery, including initial findings of size and extraction viability.”

Manama is the smallest producer of hydrocarbons in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also groups Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.