New Arabia-Bahrain pipeline FEED complete, MEED Conference told

The front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the new 360,000 b/d Arabia-Bahrain pipeline from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain is complete and the EPC procurement is ready to be launched, the MEED Bahrain Energy Forum was told this morning.

“We are aiming to start construction as early as possible,” Bapco chairman Adel Al Moayyed said.

The new pipeline will replace the existing 235,000 b/d pipeline that runs from near Al-Khobar to Bahrain via Umm Nasan island. The pipeline, originally built in 1945, delivers Bahrain’s share of the Abu Safaa field which is located in Saudi Arabia’s territorial waters.

The new pipeline will run from Qurayyah south of Al-Khobar and will land on the west coast of Bahrain more than 10 kilometres south of the built up areas of the kingdom.

The procurement will be handled by Saudi Aramco or Bapco. It is likely that a conventional lump-sum turnkey EPC approach will be pursued.

The new pipeline will support plans to modernise the Bapco refinery and expand its capacity to 360,000 b/d. Details of the project are still being finalised, Al Moayyed said.