Bahrain courts energy investors

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 21 (UPI) -- Bahrain said it expects more than 100 delegates to be on hand to show international investors the opportunities present in the nation's energy sector.

Bahrain kicks off a three-day energy conference Tuesday in Manama. More than 120 officials, industry leaders and advisers will be on hand to highlight the development opportunities in the energy sector in an event organization by Bahrain's National Oil and Gas Authority and its media sponsor, MEED.

MEED, in an announcement Monday, said Bahrain aims to re-establish itself as a "historic" player in the region's energy sector.

The forum will outline the country's energy plans through 2030.

Bahrain is one of a few countries bordering the Persian Gulf that's not a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Its output of 48,000 barrels per day of petroleum liquids is the lowest of any country in the region.

MEED Events Chairman Edmund O'Sullivan said there may be more than $14 billion in Bahrain's energy future.

Bahrain shares with Saudi Arabia production from the offshore Abu Safah oil field, which puts out an estimated 300,000 barrels of oil per day.