Bahrain's oil and gas affairs minister confirmed the government had asked a team of consultants to look into the possible privatisation of Bahrain's state-held petrol stations.

Dr Abdulhussain Ali Mirza, who also serves as the chairman of the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), said the number of petrol stations in Bahrain is set to soar from 39 to more than 100 by 2015.

"We are thinking of privatising petrol stations. We have formed a committee comprising NOGA, the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the committee has commissioned a consultant to tell us the best way to go about it," he said.

"By 2015 there will be another 63 service stations all over Bahrain - that's additional. We have about 39 now," he added.

Kuwait has already completed a similar effort, with most of its 120 petrol stations privatised in 2004, and Dr Mirza said the know-how of neighbouring countries would be considered before Bahrain takes any measures of its own.

"Well of course we will see what the other countries' experiences have been and we take the best from each one of them," he said.

He said the privatisation had been considered by authorities for some time, and said any move in this direction was unlikely to have an impact on the price paid at the pump by customers.

Dr Mirza also stressed that any privatisation would not mean NOGA will completely keep away from the industry.

"In the long-term it should be better for the customer because although we may privatise the service stations, we would be still setting the standards of quality and service, as well as ensure safety and health," he said.

There is no fixed timeframe for the consultants looking at the possible move to report back to the committee, he added.

"They will give a direction to the move," he said.

If the decision is taken to privatise the petrol stations, it will be consistent with the policy of the government to increase the role of the private sector in key sectors of the economy. TradeArabia News Service