The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A leading fisherman yesterday argued “it’s for the best” that the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) failed to strike commercial oil quantities despite the potential fiscal boost it could have provided.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association (NFA) director, told Tribune Business that while the industry can breathe “a sigh of relief for now” - with the announcement that BPC is capping its first exploratory well - the controversy raised by oil drilling is “not over”.

Reacting to BPC’s confirmation that drilling of Perseverance One has ceased, Mr Maillis said: “I am personally relieved, and I know that a number of people of the ocean, marine folk, are relieved that no commercial quantities of oil have been discovered though I, at least, don’t believe this is over because there are other wells that can be drilled and tested.

“But for now it’s a sign of relief that the well is going to be capped, and it seems for now our fears are going to be a little dissipated. Even though it could have been something potentially financially important as revenue for the country, it’s for the best.

“It’s for the best we don’t have this resource as, one, a cause of potential conflict, and two, it could cause pollution in our marine ecosystem that we so depend on as a fisheries state, a tourism state, as a state that espouses cleanliness and eco-friendly laws and policies. So it’s for the best.”

Neal Watson, owner of Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Centre, was equally ecstatic when informed by Tribune Business that BPC’s well some 90 miles west of Andros had failed to find commercial oil quantities despite detecting the presence of hydrocarbons at the location.

“That’s great news,” he said of the drilling’s halt - at least for now. “That’s fantastic. Hopefully, they’re done; get out of here. Wow. That’s wonderful. It’s a shame that the government ever let them do it.”

The Our Islands, Our Future coalition, which led environmental opposition to BPC’s oil drilling plans, said in a statement that yesterday’s announcement does not mean that The Bahamas’ environment, tourism and fisheries industries are “fully secured” against future exploration wells and similar activities.

Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) executive director, said: “The drilling that took place off the west coast of Andros for the past 48 days caused considerable damage to the sea floor and was a clear threat to our waters and our economy, and that of our neighbours.

“It was a risk to the well-being of our ecosystems and our people who depend on healthy oceans for tourism and fisheries, and ultimately our way of life. This will send the message to the world that we take protection of our environment seriously, that we care about our people, and that we are serious about building a climate-resilient future.”

Dr Ancilleno Davis, an independent marine and terrestrial ecologist, added that “we still do not have sufficient local capacity to assess the resources we have. We are decades away from having the resources to respond to or recover from a major spill”.

Our Islands, Our Future said questions remained over BPC’s insurance coverage for Perseverance One, including the limits of coverage, the duration of the policy and any potential exclusions should an accident happen.

It also queried whether BPC has paid the outstanding licence fees due to the Government. “Will BPC have an opportunity to slip away to Trinidad & Tobago without payment of the fees that were required in their binding agreement?” asked Rashema Ingraham of Waterkeepers Bahamas, a coalition member.