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A BD300 fee will be charged for granting licences to drill groundwater wells in Bahrain, while owners will have to pay an annual fee of BD25 for each well under a new ministerial decision.
The charges have been introduced by Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak through Decision No 146 of 2026, published in the recent edition of the Official Gazette.
The decision was issued under the provisions of Decree-Law No 12 of 1980 concerning the regulation of groundwater use, particularly Article Five, and follows a proposal submitted by the Under-Secretary for Agriculture and approval by the Cabinet.
Under Article One of the decision, the fee applies to the granting of a licence to drill a well, while the annual charge is imposed separately on each well. This means that the two charges serve different purposes, with the BD300 fee linked to obtaining the drilling licence and the BD25 payment recurring annually for each well.
The decision forms part of Bahrain’s existing legal framework governing the use of groundwater, a resource that requires regulation to support its sustainable management.
Article Two assigns responsibility for implementing the decision to the Under-Secretary for Agriculture.
The decision will come into force with immediate effect.
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