Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, the Minister of Finance and the Minister in charge of Oil and Gas Affairs, held a series of meetings with a number of senior officials of major American petroleum companies.
Accompanied by officials and technicians from the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), NOGAHOLDING, the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), Tatweer Petroleum (TATWEER) and from the Ministry of Finance, the Minister visited paid a visit to the United States from the during the period 12th to the through 15th of November 2012. The Minister and the delegation were briefed on the latest technological developments in the field of acquainted themselves with latest technologies in petroleum search, exploration and production. He also discussed possible co-operation with companies to develop in the development of the oil industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Minister visited several major petroleum companies such as Weatherford International, Halliburton, Lufkin, Helmerich and Payne Inc. (H and P), Schlumberger, Key Energy Service, as well as the head offices of Occidental (OXY), the US’ third largest oil and Gas Company based on equity market capitalization, in Houston, Texas.
The Minister’s visit to the USA was prompted by the fact that the US petroleum sector in the United States of America has witnessed rapid growth and development as a result of the application of state-of-the-art technologies to unconventional resources, which has led to a remarkable increase in the production of oil and gas in the United States.