Saudi Aramco and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) announced on Tuesday the successful operation of the AB-4 pipeline, a new phase in the strategic Aramco-Bahrain crude oil pipeline. The new pipeline aims to meet Bahrain’s growing energy demand, Aramco said in a statement. It will be capable of transporting up to 350 thousand barrels of crude oil per day. The AB-4 pipeline, which is 30 inches in diameter and 112 kilometers long, originates at Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq Plants Facility and terminates at the BAPCO Refinery in Bahrain. It consists of three segments: a 42-km onshore Saudi segment, a 28-km Bahrain onshore segment and a 42-km offshore segment. “The operation of AB-4 pipeline is another chapter in the special relationship between Saudi Aramco and BAPCO in several aspects, including the energy sector that has flourished for more than 73 years and beyond,” said Acting Executive Head of Pipelines Distribution & Terminals at Saudi Aramco Abdullah Mansour. The new pipeline has been equipped with the latest technologies to ensure safety, environmental protection and hydrocarbon supply reliability in the coming decades. The existing 73-year-old pipeline system, which has been supplying BAPCO with crude oil since 1945, will retire safely, the statement said. The work on the project will continue over the coming weeks to stabilize the flow of crude oil and activities related to the trial operation of this huge project. Saudi Aramco and BAPCO will transfer the full supply of crude oil to the new pipeline in the coming months, and the new line will replace the old one gradually and according to a specific timetable.