TotalEnergies forms Middle East trading venture with Bapco

French oil major TotalEnergies has formed a 50-50 joint venture with Bahrain’s Bapco Energies called BxT Trading.

The Middle East-focused venture will trade in relation to products from Bapco’s 267,000-barrels-per-day Sitra refinery.

The partnership builds on a 2024 deal under which Total agreed to help expand and modernise Sitra to reach throughput capacity of 380,000 bpd and share the French firm’s trading expertise, while exploring options to partner with Bahrain on projects in renewable energy or liquefied natural gas.

“Through this partnership with TotalEnergies we are enhancing our global trading capabilities, strengthening our downstream value chain, and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a competitive and trusted player in the international energy markets,” Bapco Energies chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa said in a statement.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said the joint venture strengthened Total’s Middle East presence.

The two executives held a signing ceremony on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.

Further reading:

• TotalEnergies launches final phase of Iraq energy project
• Lebanon grants TotalEnergies new exploration permit
• Bahrain juggles data centre and green energy demands