Regional oil refineries should continue to expand their output to meet a worldwide shortage expected to last at least two more years, a Bahraini official has stated.

National Oil and Gas Authority chairman Dr Abdul-Hussain Ali Mirza said Bapco and other companies in the region stand to benefit from raising their output and even building more refineries to meet this demand.
"There is currently a shortage in supply of oil products because companies all over the world have not been investing in building many new refineries," he said.
"In the US, for example, there hasn't been a new refinery built in the last 29 years, although companies have invested in improving productivity.
"The reason is that profit margins in the industry have been traditionally low, which discouraged further investment in the sector.
"But with the higher prices due to the current shortage, it's beginning to make good business sense again."
However, he cautioned that companies should tread carefully to avoid increasing output so much that margins would again begin to drop.
"Customers may also be lost if prices become too high because they will begin looking at alternative energy sources," said Dr Mirza.
He was speaking at the opening of the fifth Middle East International Refining and Petrochemicals Exhibition (Middle East Petrotech 2006), which was held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.
The event, with its accompanying conference, was held under the theme Technology for Tomorrow's Generation and was attended by over 1,000 industry professionals.
The conference was launched with an opening ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa, but subsequent sessions were held at the BIEC.
The exhibition featured over 130 firms from 21 countries, many of which were present at the inaugural event in 1996.
Saudi Aramco also participated in the event.
Abdulaziz Al-Khayyal, Aramco's Senior Vice President for Refining, Marketing and International Works delivered a speech stressing that since its inception a decade ago, Petrotech has established itself as the premier downstream event in the Middle East.
Over the last 10 years, it has played an important role in bringing together investors, consumers, technology developers and licensors, and of course the fuel and feedstock producers of the region.
"Today, our discussions and deliberations are more important than ever, given the vital role the region's petroleum industry plays in meeting global energy demand," he noted.
He added, ''It takes only a glance at the headlines to appreciate the many opportunities and challenges facing the refining and petrochemical industry, as well as oil and gas producers."