The total value of projects completed crept higher in Bahrain in 2018, with developments worth $3.9bn being commissioned, up 10 per cent from $3.6bn in 2017.

The biggest two projects completed in 2018 were both gas projects – and come as the nation focuses on developing new natural gas resources.

Bahrain announced the discovery of the Khaleej al-Bahrain field, a major new shale oil and tight gas resource basin off the western coast, last year, which could hold more than 80 billion barrels of shale oil in place, along with 20 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The biggest project completed in 2018 was Bahrain LNG’s gas import terminal, which had a budget of $900m.

The initial capacity of the re-gasification terminal is about 14 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) with the potential to rise to 22 million cm/d depending on the long-term energy needs of the kingdom's industrial sector.

The second biggest was the Banagas Bahrain gas plant 3 project, which had a budget of $600m.

The project was developed to process associated gas from the Bahrain oil field and was executed by the South Korean engineering, procurement and construction company GS Engineering & Construction.

Other major projects completed in 2018 included a $162m package of the Al-Madina al-Shamaliya residential development and a $150m package that forms part of the AB pipeline project, which is being developed by Saudi Aramco and Bapco.