CORRECTED - Bahrain to start overhaul of oilfield at year-end

(Corrects Occidental RIC (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in second paragraph)

MANAMA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab state Bahrain plans to start an overhaul of its Bahrain oil field by the end of the year, its top oil official said on Tuesday.

Bahrain has created a joint-venture with U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to triple production of its Bahrain oil field to about 100,000 barrels per day in the long run.

"The company was established two weeks ago, the hand-over (of the field) will be at the end of the year or early next year, that's when they will start," Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza, head of the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), told reporters in Manama.

The field's current production capacity stands at about 33,000 barrels per day.

Around 3,600 development wells would be drilled at the field over the next 20 years, Mirza said.

Occidental would start drilling exploration wells at three off-shore blocs the company was awarded in 2007, in December of this year or in January 2010, he said.

Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PTTE.BK would start drilling at the one off-shore bloc it was awarded during the second half of 2010, he added.