Bahrain is hoping to take a slice of the lucrative clean development mechanism (CDM) industry, it emerged yesterday. The sector generates up to BD11.3 billion ($30bn) a year.

The industry offers a host of potential benefits, including job creation and attracting foreign direct investment, said Oil and Gas Affairs Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza.

He said pursuing CDM projects would not only help Bahrain meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations to reduce harmful emissions but also contribute to sustainable growth.

Dr Mirza was speaking during a workshop organised by Noga and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company to discuss future co-operation within the industry.

Around 100 people attended the event, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel's Bahrain Conference Centre.

'We aspire to attract local, regional and international parties concerned with implementing CDM projects,' said Dr Mirza.

'CDM provides a number of benefits, the foremost of which is the attraction of foreign direct investment, creation of new employment opportunities and introduction of sophisticated technologies in various areas, especially in the petroleum industry.

'Today, CDM projects have become a global market with a total investment of more than BD378 million ($10bn) in 2005, while estimates last year were between BD945m and BD1.3bn ($25bn-$30bn).'

He revealed Bahrain has already made a deal with the Japanese company Inter-Domain to study the possibility of using the wind to generate energy.

'They have agreed to instal an experimental mast in the refinery for one year to measure the velocity of the wind,' Dr Mirza told the GDN.

'If it is viable they will propose to invest in the wind generating projects to create energy.'

Meanwhile, Dr Mirza dismissed media reports that Bapco's BD756m ($2bn) project to produce diesel and naphtha may be delayed because of difficulties in securing funds.

'This is completely untrue,' he said.

'There is no delay and we do not expect any, all our projects are going ahead.'

Dr Mirza said general manager of engineering Essa Al Ansari had been misquoted when he said the project, which will have a capacity of 40,000 barrels per day, might not be completed by its 2015 target.

He also revealed final negotiations with the US company Occidental about the massive expansion of Bahrain's onshore oilfield were reaching their final stages.

Dr Mirza revealed drilling would start once a feasibility study being conducted by the US firm is completed by the end of next month.-TradeArabia News Service