Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa criticized on Wednesday (April 4, 2018) the weakness of previous oil exploration plans, pointing out that their excuse was a lack of promising opportunities.

During his meeting with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and officials in the oil field, the King praised former oil minister Abdulhossein Mirza for his contributions to the development of the oil industry.

Government policies under the leadership of Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa failed to develop the oil sector. The former oil minister and adviser to Prime Minister Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa did not initiate any oil exploration project over a period of 10 years.

The Minister, who died in 2015, was accused of major corruption, including the Alba-Alcoa case.

"Given the oil sector's growth over the first decades, a change in policies taken by sector officials at the time resulted in weak planning to explore for more natural resources and the argument was the scarcity of promising opportunities," he added.

"Today is the time to do away with the causes that dismissed explorations and the discovery of any new field since the first well. Our desire to boost the pace of growth has always been greater and deeper than reality. We have been able to find the answer through our determination and resolve to intensify the exploration plans, after we strengthened steady communication, held intensive meetings and encouraged genuine national willpower to ensure the success of these efforts."

Speaking of the Gulf role, the King said: "It is important to express thanks and appreciation to our brothers for their support programmes, which have been very instrumental in the continuation of development projects. In this context, we stress that the continuous support of our brothers in achieving sustainability in our national economy is truly crucial and we will always stress its special significance."

Arabic Version