The opening ceremony takes place at Bapco’s Refinery on Tuesday in attendance of the Minister Energy Dr Abdulhussein Bin Ali Mirza, Bapco CEO Faisal Al Mahroos, the Ministers, top ranking officials and the invited guests.
LBOP, a dream that has finally come true, is a key project which is in line with the wise directives of the Kingdom of Bahrain towards diversifying sources of income. It is part of the strategies of Vision 2030, and a landmark in latest technologies of oil industry.
“LBOP reflects the ongoing commitment for entering into promising partnerships with leading establishments worldwide, saying that this achievement would not have been made tangible without the valued support of the Wise Leadership. “It is a great achievement as one of the world’s largest units of its type and features the latest technology,” the Minister said.
“Thanks to close cooperation among the partners, we were able to get the plant up and running within the very challenging three-year schedule originally announced. The $430 million LBOP Project is the first ever Joint Venture in the refining sector in Bahrain. Inauguration of the Lube Base Oil Plant is the successful culmination of the Strategic Investment Programme started in 2002 by Bapco in order to remain competitive and improve operating margins and compliance to the Environmental laws of the Kingdom of Bahrain”, the Minister said.
Dr. Mirza said the project has been ambitious in every sense of creating opportunities for development of local talent. “Not only were several stationary equipment manufactured locally in Bahrain to the highest global standards, this project has also resulted in providing job opportunities for national cadres,” he said.
He said the project sought the assistance of Bahraini contractors who employed over 200 Bahraini cadres in the project, and 14 Bahrainis were trained to operate the unit at highest professional standards. “We have also achieved the significant safety milestone of 10 million man-hours Without Lost Time Incident during the execution of this mega project.”
“As one of its strategic goals for the future Bapco aims at diversifying its product range and produce higher value products at its refinery. In order to remain competitive and improve its operating margins this approach is essential. The newly commissioned hydrocracker at LSDP complex offered one such opportunity. The application of the new technology enables Bahrain to improve the competitive advantage of its refining industry with the ability to manufacture Group III base oils and become a world leader in the production of high quality lube base oils. This project is a strategic fit between the two joint venture partners enabling them to meet their long term objectives.”
“We now look forward to successful and profitable operation of the Lube Base Oil Plant that will be seamlessly integrated with Bapco Refinery. The project will stand out as a shining example for the world to admire and cite as an example of all that can be achieved under visionary leadership,” the Minister, added.
The Minister said that the project contributes by providing a number of job opportunities for national workforce and seeks help from Bahraini contractors to employ more than 200 Bahraini cadres in implementing the project.
Also 14 Bahrain technicians were trained to operate the unit up to the highest standard. The Minister remarked: (we succeeded in scoring 10 million hours of work free from any injuries which may lead to squandering of valuable time during the project implementation.)
The project constitutes the most significant strategic and operational goals for future development and reflects the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to expanding its world-class high-tech, high-quality oil industrial production.