OIL pipelines that are not being used any more will be torn down to expand highways, according to officials.In a letter to the Northern Municipal Council, Bapco Energies has said that the oil pipelines network is more than 70 years old and a new line that feeds Bapco with crude oil from Saudi Arabia was launched in November 2018.In 2019, Bahrain announced that it had found an additional 80 billion barrels of tight oil and deep gas reserves approximately 10 to 20 trillion cubic feet off Bahrain’s southwest coast.Conservative estimates suggest the discovery could double Bahrain’s current output of around 200,000 barrels of oil per day.The GDN earlier reported that plans to remove the ageing oil pipelines were put on hold so that they could be used for the newly discovered oil, but the move was later deemed unnecessary.In the letter, Bapco Energies authorised the government to start dismantling the pipelines.Development of Wali Al Ahad Highway, Al Riffa Avenue and Al Mouaskar Highway, as well as other arteries along which rusty metal pipelines run, has been, ironically, in the pipeline for years.“Any project that is being carried out in areas in which the old pipelines are located will see the assigned contractor removing the part obstructing work,” said council vice-chairwoman Zaina Jassim.“No proper expansion can go ahead unless those pipelines are torn down,” she added.“Hopefully, this will be the process for all future developments involving the old pipelines until they are non-existent in urban areas at least.“Removing rusty pipelines would give the much-needed space for additional lanes on highways.”Ms Jassim said the new expansion on Wali Al Ahd Highway stretching from Riffa to Janabiya is set to see parts of the pipelines removed.“A major part of Wali Al Ahd Highway is in my constituency and the traffic congestion is a daily headache as motorists honk repeatedly when they do not see any significant movement of vehicles for 40-50 minutes, if not more,” she said.“There are several businesses, outlets, a military camp and a private school on the highway and it is not an easy drive there.“The nearby King Fahad Causeway is bustling with traffic that is beyond its capacity as people from Saudi Arabia visit Bahrain, and unfortunately they are also caught in the gridlock.”Ms Jassim said in future the new King Hamad Causeway would come up in the same area and will need proper support routes.“The pipelines need to be discarded, cut out, or dismantled and taken away.”Councillors in both the Northern and Southern Municipal Councils are concerned that delaying removal work would lead to further traffic congestion and make future road expansions more difficult. They also claim that inaction could mean higher costs for expansion projects, which would take up to a decade to be completed.“Oil pipelines that have not been used for around six years will continue to impede infrastructure development,” said Southern Municipal Council chairman Abdulla Abdullatif.“There are multiple options for removal – the government can fully shoulder the cost, have the private sector carry out work on the pipelines, or enter into some sort of a partnership,” he added.“The inaction is irritating and with urban sprawl gaining pace and the number of cars increasing annually, pushing plans for an infrastructure overhaul further down the road may end up causing more disruption.“Things are becoming more complicated than what they were a few years ago, and there has to be a new technical, financial and administrative review.

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