Bahrain’s oil and natural gas assets are the country’s most important source of income. The state owns, wholly or partly, the oil and natural gas industry and the extraction is managed by the state with the help of Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain is the smallest oil and gas producer of the GCC countries (see Foreign Policy and Defense) and reserves are relatively limited. However, exploration is underway to find any new sources and in 2018 an oil and gas field outside the west coast was found which is said to be larger than any previous field.
COUNTRYAAH: Major exports by Bahrain with a full list of the top products exported by the country. Includes trade value in U.S. dollars and the percentage for each product category.
In 2003, foreign companies were allowed to invest in the country’s energy recovery and several international companies have since established themselves. Unlike other countries in the region, Bahrain exports refined oil.
The country’s own energy needs are completely covered by domestic natural gas.
Abbreviationfinder: A popular acronym site in the world covering abbreviation for each country. For example, BA stands for Bahrain. Visit itypeusa for more information about Bahrain.
Bahrain’s coasts are often exposed to environmentally harmful oil spills. Coral reefs have been damaged, and turtles and fish species have decreased in number as a result of pollution in the sea. In 2018, Bahrain joined a UN campaign to save the world ocean from debris. In 2019, the government announced its intention to ban plastic bags.
FACTS – ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
Energy use per person
10 395 kilos of oil equivalent (2014)
Electricity consumption per person
19225 kWh, kWh (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions in total
31 338 thousand tonnes (2014)
Carbon dioxide emissions per inhabitant
23.4 tonnes (2014)
The share of energy from renewable sources
0.0 percent (2015)
2015
December
Death penalty for “terrorism”
December 31st
One Shiite is sentenced to death and 22 others are sentenced to life imprisonment for forming a “terrorist group” and killing two people. Sixteen of them are sentenced in their absence. All are deprived of their citizenship and two are also sentenced to pay the equivalent of just over half a million dollars in fines.
June
Nabil Rajab is pardoned
July 13
King Hamad pardons Nabil Rajab, for “health reasons.
April
Nabil Rajab arrested again
2 April
Nabil Rajab, who is free on bail following an appeal, is accused of insulting public institutions. He has tweeted, among other things, that former members of Bahrain’s security forces, now fighting with jihadist groups in Syria, have developed their extremist views in the service. The imprisonment from January is then set at a higher instance.
March
Bahrain participates in air strikes in Yemen
March 26
Bahrain participates when a group of countries led by Saudi Arabia launches air strikes against the Shiite Muslim Huthi rebels in Yemen, which have taken the country’s capital and ousted the president.
February
New TV channel is stopped
February 2
Authorities are stopping the new pan-Arab TV channel al-Arabs, which has just begun broadcasting. It then happens on the channel on its first day in the air, an interview with a Shi’a Muslim opposition politician. al-Arab was started by a Saudi prince and billionaire, with the aim of producing “objective” journalism.
January
72 people are deprived of citizenship
January 31
72 people are convicted of damaging the Kingdom’s interests and are therefore deprived of their citizenship. According to authorities abroad, most of the convicted are members of any terrorist group, have financed terrorist acts or have been guilty of other terror-related crimes.
Nabil Rajab sentenced to jail after tweet
January 20th
Human rights activist Nabil Rajab is sentenced to six months in prison for tweeting insults about public institutions such as the Ministry of Home Affairs and Defense. Rajab had written, among other things, that many of the Bahrainians who joined extreme rebel groups in Syria were former members of the country’s security forces who had developed extremist views when serving in Bahrain. Rajab was arrested in October 2014 but released after a few weeks against the bail.
