A new, massive oil discovery in Bahrain could help the island kingdom dramatically improve its economic and fiscal strength, according to analysts at Moody’s credit ratings agency.
In early April, Bahrain’s Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa announced its biggest discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in decades, estimated to be at least 80 billion barrels of tight oil and between 10 and 20 trillion cubic feet of deep natural gas.
Found off Bahrain’s west coast, if it is verified by an international oil consortium as being technically and economically recoverable it could be a boon for the nation’s economy.
Bahrain’s budget deficit was as high as 17.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted there would be a deficit of 11.9 percent of GDP in 2018. But, while improving, Bahrain’s debt factor continues to be a concern for both ratings agencies and the IMF.
As such, a new oil discovery could be just the thing Bahrain needs to boost its recovery.[…]
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/bahrain-discovery-of-80-billion-barrels-of-oil.html
