Central to Bahrain’s plans of both becoming a gas hub and meeting rising domestic energy demand is a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and regasification facility, the Bahrain LNG Import Terminal.
The terminal will form a vital part of the kingdom’s energy infrastructure by securing supply to meet growing demand for natural gas to fuel large industrial projects, generate power and water, and develop enhanced oil recovery. It should also provide an insurance policy in case of gas shortages and supplement domestic gas supplies with gas from LNG.
The recent moves to develop LNG in Bahrain are expected to go some way to meet the kingdom’s future energy needs, along with planned downstream expansions.
To this end, Bahrain is looking to develop a partnership with Russia in LNG.
In early September country representatives signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen and expand cooperation in the energy sector during a diplomatic meeting between King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and President Vladimir Putin in Russia.
The agreement follows a February announcement from Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, then-minister of energy, that talks were under way for Bahrain to potentially become a distribution centre for LNG, in response to a forecasted rise in demand for gas in the region, which has increased 7% per annum since the early 2000s.
Proposals to bring Russian LNG to Bahrain are not new, with initial plans floated as early as 2011, according to media reports. The most recent agreement, however, comes as Bahrain sees domestic gas consumption increase by an average annual rate of 5%.
