Considerable progress was made on the Khuff Gas development programme to ensure continuity of gas supply to meet the increasing gas demand necessary for power generation and other major industries in Bahrain.

The first part of this programme is a $7.3 million project to modify five existing Gas Decompression Units (GDUs) in the Oil Field to cater for the reduction of the gas reservoir pressure.
The second part is a $45.4 million project to install eight new GDUs. Half of the project has been completed with the remaining four GDUs due for commissioning in May 2007.
Oil and gas production was marked by the completion of the Khuff
Development Drilling Programme four months ahead of schedule and well within budget.
The programme started in 2005 with the aim to complete eight wells by the end of 2006. One of the highlights was the completion of Well No 744 which was drilled to a total depth of 11,400 feet in 51 days - nine days ahead of schedule.
The Shallow Development Drilling Programme for the year included drilling 22 vertical wells and four re-entry wells.
 Refining
Refining saw several record-breaking performances, thanks to a plant availability of more than 97 per cent.
This achievement is a reflection of the whole Company, covering oil processing, maintenance, reliability, power and utilities and many other supporting groups. As a result, all the indications are that the refinery’s average daily throughput target of 253,000 barrels was exceeded by 5,700 bpd for 2006.
One of the challenges facing the refinery is to continually reduce the amount of low-value products known as “the heavy end“ of the barrel.
These products include fuel oil and asphalt. So far this proportion of the barrel of refined product has been cut to just 21.3 per cent - which means that an extra 400,000 barrels of heavy end was converted to higher value product. 
Another major achievement is the reduction of oil mass loss per month to just 0.59. This emphasis on waste reduction is a key element in planning for profitability, but the reduction itself is purely through the effort of the operators as they keep a watchful eye on leaks and flares. That employee commitment is worth $3 million a year.
Safety milestone
Safety training was continually enhanced during the year, with the milestone of five million consecutive employee hours reached without a lost-time accident (LTA). Contractors too showed outstanding safety performance receiving awards for reaching - for the first time ever – three million consecutive employee-hours without a LTA.
Leadership qualifications
Bapco has a strong and justified reputation for its work in developing the talents of young Bahrainis, employed by the company and also those seeking employment. There has been growing emphasis on the provision of externally validated technical, operational and management training and development courses.
During the year, Bapco was accredited as a Centre for awarding Institute of Leadership and Management qualifications.
Oil spill capability
Bapco recently announced a major expansion of its oil spill response capability, as part of its ongoing environmental protection programme.
A new Command Centre in Awali has been commissioned by the Company, from which it will direct all oil spill related emergency operations.
In addition, the Company has commissioned a new support centre at Sitra which houses skimmers, booms and other oil spill combating equipment. This is the culmination of a year’s intensive effort to further enhance Bapco’s position as one of the prime movers in combating oil spills and protecting the environment in the Arabian Gulf.