Pioneering Bahrain finds itself reliant on Saudi largesse - The National

The first GCC country to discover oil is now the first to encounter the economic and political challenges of energy vulnerability.

Bahrain started the Gulf boom when the forerunner of today's Chevron struck oil there in 1932. In those days, Bahrain was politically dependent on Britain, and Chevron could deal with the ruler only through the resident British representative.

In 1958, Bahrain agreed to surrender to Saudi Arabia its claim to the Fasht Abu Safa offshore area in return for half of the revenue from the oilfield there. From the mid-1970s, it nationalised its own oilfield, but production dropped steadily.

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