HH ShEikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the late Amir of the Kingdom of Bahrain, inaugurated the Associated Gas Project on December 17, 1979, highlighting Bahrain's determination to use energy resources effectively.

The primary objective of the project was to use the large quantities of associated gas extracted from the Bahrain Oil Field, which, for more than 40 years, had been wasted. This valuable natural resource is now making a substantial contribution to the economy, as well as creating employment opportunities for the national workforce.
The project was incorporated as Bahrain National Gas (Banagas) -- 75 per cent owned by the government and the remaining 25 per cent equally owned by the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation and Caltex Bahrain.
The $100-million project included the construction of four gas compressor stations, a processing plant to recover propane, butane and naphtha and a storage area at Sitra.
It was indeed a historic event when the Japanese tanker, 'Yuyo Maru', was loaded with the first shipment of 5,000 metric tonnes of Butane in March 1980. Since then, the company has continued to produce LPG products conforming to the highest international specifications.
Due to the substantial increase in the quantity of associated gas extracted from the Bahrain Oil Field during the subsequent years, the company decided to expand its design capacity to process all the available quantity of associated gas.
In 1988, a $74-million expansion project was launched to upgrade the plant processing capacity from 170 to 280 mmscfd. The Project, which was implemented by the government of Bahrain as a sole venture, involved construction of two additional compressor stations and a new processing train at the Central Gas Plant and at the Sitra Storage area. The project was commissioned in October 1990.
The associated gas is separated from crude oil at 16 well manifolds located around the Bahrain Oil Field. The gas is then transferred through a network of pipelines to the six compressor stations suitably located in the field. The low pressure gas is compressed at these stations from about 20 PSI to 440 PSI before being routed to the Central Gas Plant.
Another stream of high pressure gas from the Arab gas wells joins the associated gas prior to its entry into the Central Gas Plant. At the plant, LPG is recovered from the gas and propane, butane and naphtha produced through fractionation. Propane and Butane are transported to the Sitra storage area and stored in refrigerated LPG tanks for onward export to various parts of the world, while Naphtha is transferred to the Bahrain refinery (Bapco).
The residual lean gas, mainly methane and ethane, is routed to Aluminum Bahrain, Bahrain refinery and Electricity Directorate's Riffa Power Station, to be used in operating their gas turbines after meeting the company's own fuel gas requirements.
When the company started operations in 1979, Bahraini personnel represented 48 per cent of the total workforce. However, in line with the company's policy to create an efficient and highly-skilled national workforce, vigorous development and training programmes were implemented. At present, the Bahraini workforce makes up 93 per cent of the total workforce.
Over the years, Banagas has won national and international recognition for its achievements in productivity, safety, quality, human resources development and contribution to the economy.
HH the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Industry honour for Banagas in its inaugural year, highlighted the success and provided the company with future impetus to its commitment to continuous improvement.
The company's achievements would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the country's leadership, clear strategies, policies and vision adopted by the board of directors, leadership of the executive management and  the loyalty, dedication and hard work of the employees.
The Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Award for Excellence in Industry, introduced in December 1997, has come as an incentive for the industrial sector to emphasise on quality, excellence, Bahrainisation and protection of the environment.
The purpose of the award is to encourage Bahrain's industrial sector to further improve performance and develop quality management in order to satisfy customers.
Companies are selected for the award on the basis of Bahrainisation, provision of appropriate training and development programmes, utilisation of local raw materials, expansion of exports, international promotions and participation in local community services.
There are more than 400 industrial companies of various sizes in Bahrain. They provide over 20,000 employment opportunities. Numerous factories and production units are created every year. Improvement of productivity of such organisations is geared to further development and expansion and, thus, more employment opportunities for Bahrainis.
The Ministry of Oil and Industry has introduced incentive programmes for companies in the form of annual industrial awards, which are presented for industrial excellence.
As far as Quality Management System (QMS) is concerned, ISO 9000 has become the most important quality standard in the world because it controls quality and provides the foundation for continuous improvement. It helps organisations achieve high standards. And, Banagas was certified as the ISO 9000 international quality standard in 1994.
Registration with British Standards Institution (BSI), the worlds' leading standards and quality services organisation, to the ISO 9001 Standard, demonstrates that the Banagas management practices have been assessed by an independent and impartial body and found to meet the requirements of the standard.
The ISO 9001 quality system requirements assessed included critical elements such as defining management responsibilities, establishing and controlling documents and data, training, process control, corrective and preventive actions, etc.
A "no-venting, no-flaring" policy has been established, whereby all available gas is processed in a safe manner with minimum risk to the environment. Furthermore, the company goals address the environment through "sustaining safe and secure operational practices" and "accepting responsibility for the protection of the environment in all aspects of operation".