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hen Dr Abdul-Hussain Ali Mirza started out as a fresh-faced Bapco trainee after leaving school, he never dreamt of one day becoming the most powerful figure in the country’s oil and gas industry. Today he is charged with overseeing the whole of Bahrain’s energy remit, at a time when country is undertaking a dramatic overhaul of its oil and gas industry. Formerly a relative backwater in the GCC oil and gas sector, Bahrain is currently experiencing a flurry of activity by major international oil companies following the allocating of four off shore exploration and production blocks last year. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to tap into the country’s natural gas reserves and to develop technology that will breath new life into the ageing Bahrain field. Describing his spectacular climb to the top, the man in charge of these projects says: “I worked at Bapco for 40 years, starting off as a trainee before ending up as Chief Executive. During that period the company was kind enough to sponsor my higher education in London. Then I had to go through various positions, climbing up the ladder of the organisation. So I have been General Manager of Administration, General Manager of Services and of Finance and Legal Affairs, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Executive. I was appointed in 2002 by his Majesty the King as a Minister of State and in 2004 I was made Minister of Cabinet affairs.”
Leading change Ali Mirza became Minister of Oil and Gas Affairs in 2005. Then, following the issuing of political, social and economic reforms by the King of Bahrain, the National Oil and Gas Authority was formed, with Ali Mirza as Chairman. Since his appointment, he has been instrumental in encouraging investment by IOCs in Bahrain’s oil sector – an achievement he describes as his proudest to date: “The main thing I have brought about is a paradigm shift in the oil and gas sector. There are lots of activities going on now in the sector. We have offered all our offshore blocks for exploration to the interna-
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