Oilfield

Bahrain was the first place on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf where oil was discovered in 1932 which brought rapid modernisation. Oil exploration did not mean immediate wealth for Arab rulers of the area. Although the oil companies struck large deposits of oil in Bahrain almost immediately, it took longer in other countries to locate finds of commercial size. Oman, for instance, was unable to export oil until 1967. World War II delayed development of whatever fields had been discovered in the 1930s.

Key Dates:
1932 - First Oil Discovery
1934 - First Shipment of Crude Oil
1936 - The Bahrain Refinery - with a capacity of 10 000 barrels per day opened
1945 - Pipeline laid between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia; then the world's longest commercial submarine pipeline
1948 - Discovery of Natural Gas