Bahrain Petroleum Exports Drop 11% in 2008 on Refinery Repair

By Abdulla Fardan

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bahrain, the smallest oil producer in the Persian Gulf, said exports of petroleum products declined 11 percent last year because of shutdowns and maintenance work at the country’s sole refinery.

Bahrain exported 9.2 million tons of oil products in 2008, compared with 10.3 million tons a year earlier, the National Oil & Gas Authority said in an e-mailed statement today. The products exported include diesel, gasoline, kerosene, naphtha and heavy fuel oil.

Bahrain Petroleum Co., the only oil producer in the country, pumps about 190,000 barrels a day of crude oil, mostly from the offshore Abu Safa’ oilfield that it shares with Saudi Arabia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Abdulla Fardan in Bahrain at afardan@bloomberg.net