The Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) of Bahrain exported nearly 1.1 million tonnes of its products to global markets in 2015, its chairman Dr Ahmed Al Sharyan told shareholders at their general assembly.

Of total exports of 1,090,204 tonnes, urea accounted for 635,124 tonnes, methanol 414,805 tonnes and ammonia 41,210 tonnes. The volume sold in the local market was 935 tonnes.

GPIC was able to achieve all its targets for the year and produced 1.5 million tonnes of ammonia, urea and methanol, which was an increase over the previous year, Al Sharyan, who is also secretary general of the National Oil and Gas Authority, stated. He commended the close cooperation with GPIC partners Sabic of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company, saying it had a great impact on the smooth running of the company’s operations.

GPIC president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery noted that the company set a new record of 22 million work hours without a lost time accident since May 2002, in the process exporting its products to the US, Latin America, Australia, China, India and Singapore, among other markets.

He said the state-of-the-art Carbon Dioxide Extraction Plant also helped reduce emissions of the gas and maintain the integrity of the environment according to the standards set up by the Supreme Council for the Environment.

Dr Jawahery outlined the company’s efforts in developing human resources and spoke about the training of Bahrainis, “which had reached 90 per cent.” He said a new generation of qualified leaders is being trained to continue with the company’s successes and take advantage of future investment opportunities, a development that prompted the Labour Ministry to declare it the best in Bahrain for vocational training and human resources advancement.

Shareholders expressed satisfaction and appreciation for the company’s financial stability and excellence and commended the outstanding performance in 2015, GPIC said in a statement.

The board of directors applauded the company for winning local and international awards during 2015. These include the Excellence Award for Occupational Health and Safety awarded by Britain’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the GCC Responsible Care Award, the Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Excellence and two Arab awards for social responsibility.