First Oil Well, Bahrain

The first oil well in Bahrain was discovered in 1932.
Plaque commemorating the discovery
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As its name suggests, it is the first oil well in the southern side of the Persian Gulf and is located in Bahrain. The well is situated below Jabal Dukhan. It was discovered and operated by Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), established in 1929 in Canada by Standard Oil Company of California.[1][2]

Oil first spurted from this well on 16 October 1931, and the well finally began to blow heads of oil on the morning of 2 June 1932. The initial oil flow rate was 9,600 barrels per day (1,530 m3/d); by the 1970s the well produced 70,000 bbl/d (11,000 m3/d), and after that it stabilized at about 35,000 bbl/d (5,600 m3/d).[3] In 1980, BAPCO was taken over by the Government of Bahrain.[1] Close to the well, which has been reconstructed to its first appearance, is a stable.[4]

Bahrain was the first place on the southern side of the Persian Gulf where oil was discovered, and it coincided with the collapse of the world pearl market.

  1. ^ a b Vassiliou, Marius (2009). Historical dictionary of the petroleum industry. Historical dictionaries of professions and industries. Vol. 3. Scarecrow Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9780810859937.
  2. ^ Lobna Ali Al-Khalifa (2010). Foreign Direct Investment in Bahrain. Universal-Publishers. p. 146. ISBN 9781599423210.
  3. ^ The Report Bahrain 2009. Oxford Business Group. 2009. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-907065-03-3.
  4. ^ Walker, Jenny; Stuart Butler; Frances Linzee Gordon; Terry Carter; Lara Dunston (2007). Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula arab. Lonely Planet. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-74104-546-8.