Bahrain has struck black gold.
The country, which sits between energy titans Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Persian Gulf, has announced its biggest oil discovery since 1932.
Bahrain's official news agency reported on Sunday the discovery of a new oil field off the country's western coast that is forecast to contain "highly significant quantities of oil and gas."
The news agency did not provide an estimate of how much oil and gas had been discovered, but it said the field is "understood to dwarf Bahrain's current reserves."
"Initial analysis demonstrates the find is at substantial levels, capable of supporting the long-term extraction of tight oil and deep gas," oil minister Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa told the news agency.
Bahrain is the smallest oil producer in the Gulf. It was pumping roughly 50,000 barrels of crude a day in 2014, according to the most recent government statistics.
It has proven oil reserves of just 125 million barrels. Its neighbor Saudi Arabia has 266 billion barrels in reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Related: Saudi Arabia's oil shipments to America have plunged
Bahrain currently has one oil field under its full control. Revenue from another offshore field, the Abu Sa'fah, is split with Saudi Arabia under the terms of a 1958 agreement.
Although it's not a member of OPEC, Bahrain has joined the cartel and other major producers in an agreement designed to limit oil production and support prices. The agreement runs through the end of 2018.
