Bahrain was the first country in the Arabian Gulf where oil was discovered in 1932. Bapco Refining was instrumental in that discovery and helped in setting up the building blocks of the region’s hydrocarbon industry when it commenced the export of oil on 7th June 1934, and then began refining it from 1936.

Bapco Refining has been at the forefront of developing Bahrain’s human capital, preparing Bahrainis to meet the demands of the oil industry, enhancing their capabilities, and helping them emerge as globally competitive professionals. Bapco’s success over the last 90 years has been shaped by the support of countless national and international employees in writing the company’s growth story.

Originally owned by the Standard Oil Company of California, Bapco Refining today, is wholly owned by the Government of Bahrain. Since its early beginnings, Bapco Refining has been recognised as one of the Kingdom’s anchor companies, and as such, remained a key contributor to the GDP and a reliable income generator for the economy.

Bapco Refining currently owns a 267,000 bpd refinery, along with storage facilities for 14 million barrels and marketing and marine terminals for its portfolio of petroleum products. The Bapco Modernization Programme (BMP) will expand the processing capacity to 380,000 bpd.

The refinery, located in Bahrain’s southern governorate, comprises various operational units such as Atmospheric Crude Distillation Units, Vacuum Distillation Units, Low Sulphur Fuel Oil Complex, Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit Complex, Low Sulphur Diesel Production Complex, Hydrocracker Unit and a post BMP Residual Hydrocracker Unit using LC Fining Technology.