Bahrain oil pipeline fire was act of sabotage - Interior Ministry

An explosion which caused a fire at an oil pipeline in Bahrain on Friday was caused by sabotage, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“The incident was an act of sabotage and a dangerous act of terrorism aimed at harming the higher interests of the nation and the safety of the people,” the ministry said on its official Twitter account.

Acts of terror in Bahrain are conducted with contacts and guidance from Iran, it said.

Earlier, Bahraini authorities had brought under control a fire at an oil pipeline caused by an explosion, the civil defense said in a statement on Saturday.

State-run Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) closed the flow of oil to the stricken pipeline, the civil defense added in the statement, published on the interior ministry's website.

Residents close to the incident near Buri village, some 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the capital Manama, were being evacuated to a safe shelter, the statement added.

A Reuters witness said there was a large fire which burst the pipeline.

Bahrain relies on the Abu Safa oilfield for the majority of its oil. It shares the field with Saudi Arabia.

Oil to Bahrain is transported via the 55 km A-B pipeline which has a capacity of 230,000 barrels per day (bpd).

A new 350,000-barrels per day oil pipeline between the two countries will be completed next year and will serve the planned expansion of Bahrain’s refinery capacity.

Arabian Light crude oil will flow from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq plant via the 115-km new pipeline, 73 km of which will run overland and the rest under the Gulf.