Gov't urged: 'Step into light' on oil exploration

As of Tuesday, May 1, 2018

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

AN environmentalist yesterday urged the Government to deny the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) the necessary approvals, arguing that oil drilling "is the last thing this country needs".

Sam Duncombe, reEarth's president, called on the Minnis administration to "step into the light" and instead embrace renewable energy. "They need to deny this application," she charged. "The last thing this country needs is oil drilling.

"If, God forbid, they let them go ahead and drill, and there is an oil spill, who is going to clean that up?" queried Mrs Duncombe, pointing to the infamous Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico.

She continued: "We should be pushing ahead with renewables. Getting into an industry like this, where we have Clifton haemorrhaging oil every day, how can we be assured that there will be the necessary oversight? For anyone who believes that if they find oil here, that oil is going to be cheaper for The Bahamas, I have about three bridges to sell them.

"That oil will be taken to a refinery and sold back to us at market prices. We will get no better deal. It's the same thing when they talk about Shell coming here with LNG. By the time BPL tacks on VAT and the legacy debt that BEC has, we will be paying the same price that we're paying right now."

Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC), which has spent more than a decade on its exploration project, recently confirmed it has "lodged an application for Environmental Authorisation" with the Ministry of the Environment and Housing over its plans to drill a first well in waters south-west of Andros.

Simon Potter, BPC's chief executive, told Tribune Business yesterday that the submission was another "step" in the process to 'spudding' its first well, having taken two years to complete the work.

He also described BPC's prospects of discovering commercial quantities of extractable oil as "the best I've seen", based on the company's $100 million investment to-date in obtaining seismic data and 'de-risking' the project.

BPC is currently working on a 'parallel track', which involves obtaining the necessary environmental approvals from the Government at the same time as it seeks to secure a 'farm in', or joint venture, partner to share the financial and technical burden of drilling that first exploratory well.

BPC's submission was made in accordance with the Petroleum (Offshore Environmental Protection and Pollution Control) Regulations 2016, and its application will now be scrutinised by both the Ministry and the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission.

Obtaining the required 'Authorisation' was described by BPC as "the first step in commencing offshore field activity", with Mr Potter branding it as "the in-depth part" of the company's environmental compliance.

More like this story

DDK 6 years, 6 months ago

NO! NO! NO!

Porcupine 6 years, 6 months ago

If we truly care about this country and our children's future we must mount an unrelenting campaign against this crazy proposition.

Bahama7 6 years, 6 months ago

Personally, i think this is a golden opportunity for the Bahamas - the one chance to prop up the creaking economy and provide decent services for the population.

Lets just remember, there have been about 10 wells drilled in our waters over the past century with no spills.

Thousands of wells also drilled globally each year, again with no spills.

With modern technology , what is the issue??

laallee 6 years, 6 months ago

Step into the light, is that a line off Poltergeist? The Bahamas has the opportunity to diversify it's revenue stream and have a better future. The majority of Caribbean neighbours are doing the same thing in a responsible and safe manner. It would be madness to let the possible opportunity pass.

banker 6 years, 6 months ago

What people don't realise, is that this is a penny stock play. The object is not to really drill for oil,but to push out penny stock. BPL stock has been trading for around one pence now for years. However it is a 16 million dollar capitalisation (the last time that I checked) and it is on the exchange to go up and down in price on fake news that the company generates to make the company players money. Yes they have spent some money on "exploration" which consists of examining seismic data. It's a "Look busy -- Jesus is coming" type of thing.

As for Cuba, they are down to 3 producing wells and it is high sulphur content crude -- not like Brent Sweet Crude (hence the name) and is more expensive to refine. Big players have already moved out the Cuban fields after disappointing drilling results. If you look at the map, the producing oil wells for Cuba are closer to the Gulf of Mexico.

As I have been saying for 10 years -- "Dere een no fookin' erl !". If you examine the methodology of penny stock plays, this is a classic one. It is a great way to make a few million while pretending to be an oil company. The polite name is "junior resource company". These types of companies are known by other more pejorative names. In the history of penny stock plays, less than 1/100th of one percent actually turn into a paying oil field or mine.

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