Under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince , Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, the inauguration of Bahrain Gas Plant (CGP III) in the Bahrain field and the 40th anniversary celebration of Bahrain National Gas Company (BANAGAS) were held on Sunday 14th April 2019 at Bahrain National Gas Company (BANAGAS) head office at Sakhir.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince , Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister upon arrival was received by His Excellency the Minister of Oil Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and a number of senior officials.

The ceremony began by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Oil speech: It is an honor, Your Royal Highness, to convey on behalf of myself and all the members of The National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), the most sincere thanks and gratitude for your patronage to the inauguration ceremony of the third gas plant project in the Bahrain field and to celebrate 40 years anniversary since the establishment of Bahrain National Gas Company (BANAGAS).

Your Royal Highness, forty years have passed and the achievements are still ongoing, with highly qualified Bahraini youth and the determination to take Bahrain National Gas Company "BANAGAS" to a bright future, and a high standard among the international oil and gas companies, with its leading and positive role in supporting the national economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, while maximizing the Production, and contribution to the country's industrial development.

The Minister of Oil added: the project of the third gas plant in the field of Bahrain is the largest industrial project in the history of the Company, which comes within the orientations and advice of the wise leadership led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the support of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, The Prime Minister, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince , Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister continuous support of the oil and gas sector and the company in all its endeavors. These achievements would not have come to light without the great and endless support of the wise Leadership in line with the Economic vision of the Kingdom of Bahrain 2030 to optimize the utilization of energy resources in order to ensure sustainability to the economic growth. The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain organized extensive studies on how to take advantage of the construction of a new gas plant project, which is considered an essential part of the expansion and modernization plans in the oil and gas sector, as part of the Government strategic projects.

The Minister stated that three international companies competed through a Tender process to obtain the tender implementation and construction of the new gas plant project, in which the plant was designed to accommodate 350 million cubic feet of additional gas available in the Bahrain petroleum field. The new plant will be able to extract 382 thousand metric tons per year from LPG liquids which are propane, butane and naphtha, and re-compressing the injecting gas surplus in the field.

In January 2016, an agreement was signed to establish the third gas plant project Owned by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain presented by the Holding Company for Oil and Gas for an amount of USD 355.7 million Between the Bahrain National Gas Expansion Company and Japan's JGC.

In addition to the construction facilities for this vital project, in October of the same year, an agreement was signed for the expansion construction of pipelines and the storage facilities at the Sitra port between the Bahrain National Gas Expansion Company (TAWSEAH) and JGC Gulf International Limited, which included the construction of Two tanks, the first reservoir with a capacity storage of 200 thousand barrels of propane and the other, a capacity of 200 thousand barrels of butane with a total value of USD 98.7 million.

The total value of financing the third gas plant project US $ 645 million led by an alliance between local and regional banks.

The Minister explained that the construction work of this project took 33 months, during which achieving more than 15 million hours without any lost-time-accident. The number of Manpower during the project construction stages was more than 4500 between engineers, technicians and workers.

This project provided the opportunity to employ 137 Bahrainis, adding to the workforce of the first and second Gas Plant, reaching 667 employees, of which 80% are Bahrainis.

The Minister of Oil said that the actual operation of the plant started in November of 2018, with a highly skilled Bahraini operated Workforce; where the first shipment was exported of 23,000 metric tons of Naphtha gas and 25,000 metric tons of liquefied gas.

The project revenue is expected to reach US $ 190 million in year 2019.

On this occasion, Iam honor to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, The Prime Minister, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Deputy Commander, First Deputy Prime Minister, for their wise leadership and endless support to the oil and gas sector and the company in all its endeavors.

I am also pleased to thank the shareholders of the Company, The National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), Chevron Bahrain and Boubyan Petrochemical Company for their continuous support.