Senator slams Ex-Im Bank over $500M loan to Bahrain oil project

By Sara Schonhardt | 03/15/2024 06:54 AM EDT

The bank approved the financing Thursday despite efforts by the White House to rein in fossil fuel loans.

A Bapco oil refinery in Sitra, Bahrain, in 2006.

A Bapco oil refinery in Sitra, Bahrain, in 2006. Hasan Jamali/AP

The U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $500 million loan guarantee for an oil and gas project in Bahrain on Thursday, in a move described by some lawmakers and environmental groups as a troubling blow to President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.

The project is expected to support around 2,100 jobs in Texas and other states, according to the bank, known as the Ex-Im Bank, whose mission is to promote U.S. exports and generate jobs in America.

A press release announcing the loan’s approval states that it will support services and goods for an ongoing gas field development program “and is not expected to result in a meaningful increase in oil and gas production.”

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Climate advocates slammed the financing as an irresponsible use of taxpayer money that they say undermines White House efforts to rein in U.S. support of fossil fuel projects internationally.

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