Bahrain's leadership is optimistic that the country's economic fortunes will improve after the government announced its largest ever oil discovery. On April 4, Oil Minister Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa revealed that Bahrain's recently discovered oil and gas field, Khaleej Al Bahrain, holds an estimated 81.5 billion barrels of oil and 390 billion cubic meters of associated gas in place. Two Western firms have confirmed those numbers in independent appraisals, and Bahrain's government is working with Halliburton Co. to drill two more appraisal wells this year. The news could be game-changing for Bahrain, a country with high debt and relatively low oil production compared with its neighbors. Though the tiny island kingdom will be quick to use the announcement to drum up financial support and investor interest, any big changes to its economy will come slowly.