(May 27, 2010)

H.E. the Minister of Oil & Gas Affairs, chairman of the National Oil & Gas Authority (NOGA), and chairman of Bapco’s Board Committee Dr. Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza and Bapco Chief Executive Faisal Al-Mahroos officially inaugurated a major environmental compliance project at the Bapco refinery on May 27, 2010.

The US$151 million Refinery Gas Desulphurisation Plant (RGDP) is one of the most important and complex environmental projects ever undertaken by Bapco, and is part of a 10-year environmental compliance programme developed by the Company in 2000 in collaboration with Bahrain’s General Directorate of Environment and Wildlife Protection (EWP).

The inauguration follows the RGDP’s successful trial commissioning beginning in early 2009, which has already delivered significant environmental benefits for the Kingdom.

In a speech to mark the inauguration, H.E. the Minister said: “The RGDP was implemented to further enhance ambient air quality using cutting-edge technology to remove sulphur from refinery process gases and remove contaminants from water produced in refining processes. The RGDP will reduce hydrogen sulphide in fuel gas to less than 150 parts per million (ppm), significantly less than the Government’s environmental regulation limit of 600 ppm.

“In addition to air and water quality improvements, the project has been designed to very high reliability standards to ensure that the quality improvements are achieved continuously even when units are undergoing scheduled maintenance shutdowns.”

The Minister explained that the projects which make up Bapco’s US$440 million environmental compliance programme – including unleaded gasoline production, environmentally-friendly kerosene and jet fuel treatment, hazardous solid waste management, a waste-water treatment plant, a sewage treatment plant and double-sealed tanks to minimise evaporative losses to the atmosphere - would ensure that Bapco not only meets Government environmental standards, but significantly exceeds them.

“The projects have no direct financial benefit except for the improved health of Bapco’s employees and the people of Bahrain,” he emphasised.

Dr. Mirza praised the ability of the Bapco project team, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Foster Wheeler Italiana and project subcontractors to overcome the various technical and economic challenges posed by the complex project, and also for achieving more than four million employee-hours without a single lost-time injury during the 32-month construction period.

In his welcome speech, Mr. Al-Mahroos thanked Dr. Mirza for his continued support for the oil and gas sector, and Bapco’s objective of ‘striving for excellence’.

“The RGDP is the harvest of the fruit Dr. Mirza planted through his effort and commitment when he approved the project and signed the award contract with Foster Wheeler Italiana in April 2006,” he said.

Mr. Al-Mahroos also praised the joint efforts of Bapco and EWP on environmental compliance.

“Together we worked quietly but diligently to develop a compliance plan which enables us to comply with Government guidelines on a wide range of environmental issues,” he said.

Mr. Al-Mahroos also thanked Foster Wheeler officials present at the ceremony.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by senior NOGA and Bapco officials, including the RGDP project team, as well as Italian Ambassador to Bahrain H.E. Enrico Padula, Foster Wheeler Italiana CEO Marco Moresco, president of the Bapco Labour Union and General Director of the EWP Dr. Adel Al-Zayani.

A tour of the RGDP facility followed the welcome speeches