Bahrain's oil production has reached 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from the 32,000 bpd a few months ago, it has been revealed.

Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza said this is the first time in more than 33 years that there has been an increase in production.

'The output was 32,000 bpd since 1977 and it had actually begun to fall further in the last few years,' the minister said on the sidelines of the Middle East Artificial Lift Forum (MEALF).

'In the light of these developments, the increase now is a significant achievement,' he said.

He credited the newly set up company Tatweer Petroleum with the increased production. The company had been drilling more wells and employing more modern technology to get more oil from existing wells.

'The company has already completed drilling 25 new wells by the end of last year and more are on the way,' he said.

'It is planned that there will be a total of 3,500 new developmental wells drilled in the next two decades,' he added.

Dr Mirza said progress was being made 'slowly but surely' to take Bahrain's oil output to 100,000 bpd by 2017.

'We are making progress already as is indicated by an 8,000 bpd increase and will make more progress as we go along,' he added.

The three-day event, which started with a series of pre-conference workshops on Monday, concludes today, at the Gulf International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

It is organised by Omani event management company, Omanexpo, under the patronage of the minister.

The event is also backed by the region's large oil companies and includes pre-forum training workshops and seminars, a conference and an exhibition of oil-related equipment, technology and services.

Earlier, speaking at the opening session, Dr Mirza said the event comes as the world's oil companies were looking at investing more in the sector and exploring ways to boost oil production through new extraction technologies.

'The oil sector, including in Bahrain, is focusing on tapping difficult reserves, monetising heavy oil reservoirs, and improving and modernising existing systems for increased efficiency,' he said.

'This is what we have done in Bahrain and the results are there for everyone to see,' he added.

MEALF 2011 technical committee chairman Abdulla Al Somali said over 150 delegates from all over the world are taking part in the event.

'The forum will contribute a lot to elevating the standard of such technology and enhancing the credibility of artificial lifts in the region,' he said.

'As the only one of its kind in the region, it serves as a platform to attract international companies to invest in exploration and production projects, and to educate people on the importance of artificial lift systems and applications to the industry,' he added.

He said artificial lift refers to the use of artificial means to increase the flow of liquids, such as crude oil or water, from a production well.

'Generally this is achieved by the use of a mechanical device inside the well pumps or velocity string or by decreasing the weight of the hydrostatic column by injecting gas into the liquid some distance down the well,' he added.

He said artificial lift is needed in wells when there is insufficient pressure in the reservoir to lift the produced fluids to the surface, but often used in naturally flowing wells to increase the flow rate above what would flow naturally.

The three-day exhibition and conference is held every two years and highlights emerging technologies in oil recovery methods through training workshops, a conference and an exhibition of oil-related equipment and technology.-TradeArabia News Service