Manama: The Middle East region contains 970 billion barrels of discovered heavy, and mostly undeveloped extra heavy crude oil, Energy Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza told delegates at a conference yesterday.
Delivering the keynote address at the first-ever Middle East Heavy Oil Congress (MEHOC) held at the Gulf Hotel, the minister said unconventional oils were now an essential component of the future energy mix but not a strategic resource that could be produced intensely to supplement the supply of conventional hydrocarbons .