Coll 30/146 'Oil: Bahrain Petroleum Company: Annual Reports.' [‎319r] (637/767)

1937 ANNUAL REPORT
The year 1937 has been a busy year for The Bahrein Petroleun Co., Ltd., on
Bahrein Island. This report is designed to summarize that activity. It contains
tabulations showing the number of employees, the status of Wells, and the kind and type
of all buildings. The map attached shows the location of Wells, Pipelines, Camps,
Refinery, Pump Stations, Roads and miscellaneous minor installations of The Bahrein
Petroleum Company on Bahrein Island.
BUILDINGS
Building for the purpose of housing employees has continued during the past
year. A group of 36 air-conditioned cottages, an air-conditioned Theatre and an air-
conditioned Hospital were completed. Several extensions were made to the Main Office
building. A number of buildings in the Old Camp were dismantled and re-erected in the
New Camp for storage of miscellaneous material. Later in the year a group of 8 - 4 bed
room air-conditioned cottages for single quarters were begun as well as 15 air-conditioned
duplex married quarters. Also completed were 12 Class II houses of 12 rooms each.
DRILLING
At the end of 1936, sufficient potential production had been developed in the
Second Pay (Main Pay) to supply the anticipated crude demand, and the drilling program was
changed from straight development to partial exploration during 1937. Two wells were
drilled to test the economic possibilities of the Third Pay at a depth of about 2900 feet,
or some 900 feet below the top of the Second Pay. No commercial production was found in
the Third Pay. As a result of this exploratory w ork the normal drilling program was
slowed down and only eight new wells were completed in the Second Pay during the year.
Two wells, previously completed in the upper part of the Second Pay, were deepened to
produce from the entire Second Pay section.
The centrally located deep test well continued to prospect ahead. A 550-foot
section (now termed the Fourth Pay) of porous limestone interbedded with anhydrite was
topped at about 4150 feet. Numerous drill stem tests indicated that the limestone was
very permeable and that it carried large volumes of natural gas under high nressure together
with a small amount of high gravity oil or condensate. Drill stem tests also indicated
that the bottom 50 feet of this 550-foot section carried an encouraging amount of heavier
oil, gravity about 37° A.P.I., with characteristics similar to the oil produced from the
Second Pay. A well is being started somewhat down-structure from the deep test to better
determine the oil producing possibilities of the Fourth Pay.