Bapco has long been one of the oldest companies in Bahrain, it was established in the 1930’s and is one of the biggest companies in the kingdom.  in the past decade Bapco has launched the Strategic Investment Program (SIP) and has spent 1.2 billion US dollars on this investment. Bapco wanted to upgrade its refinery, thus, taking up this initiative which in turn will allow the company to produce increased volumes of higher value products and meet anticipated future requirements of customers.  the reason this blog is important is because of the sheer size of the projects that were planned for the next decade.  one of the most important was the use of solar power, Bapco collaborated with the University of Bahrain to bring in 2,000 solar panels which were put in and around the university campuses. “The University of Bahrain played a pivotal role in the success of this project by placing 2,000 solar panels at various university facilities, with each panel generating 200 watts of electricity, for a total of 400 kilowatts,” said University of Bahrain vice president for planning and development Waheeb al-Nasser.  this would create a source of “clean” energy for years to come.  this is a huge development for the kingdom of bahrain as economists state that this project will contribute to the growth of renewable energy industries, as well as provide a lot of jobs for locals as well as others.  this will also reduce the kingdom’s dependence on natural gas and oil power sources.  as well as solar power, Bapco has also invested in a waste water treatment project, this investment required Bapco to merge with the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife, the two companies did not see eye to eye in the past but now that Bapco has invested in water treatment the tension has eased.  the water treatment project will be a big player in protecting Bahrain’s wildlife and natural sites.  the plant is supposed to limit the polluted discharge into bahrain’s seas.  and treat water for farming and domestic use.  because Bahrain is surrounded by sea it is essential to keep waters clean, and try not to pollute it too much.

these projects gives different industries the chance to cooperate and work as a team even when it seems that the companies have different goals and initiatives.  this investment conducted by Bapco is a prime example of project management as it had a budget, time limitation, and it partnered up with several other companies and institutes to achieve this amazing 10 year project.

in my opinion, i think Bahrain should have invested in solar panels along time ago, as it is sunny all year, and natural gas and oil are running out.  and same goes to the water treatment because bahrain relies so much on the sea it is only wise to keep it clean and prevent it from contamination

Sources:

http://dmsdebates.net/energy-forum/

http://www.greenprophet.com/2014/07/bahrain-generates-oil-and-brains-using-5-mw-solar-power/

http://www.noga.gov.bh/uploads/ckfiles/files/publications/Annual%20Report%202011%20En.pdf