Deal urges govt to reconsider contract with Bahamas Petroleum Company

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation’s (BCCEC) Energy and Environment Committee Chair Deborah Deal told Guardian Business yesterday that given the impact of Hurricane Dorian on The Bahamas and the global push to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the Bahamas government should not honor its contract with Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) which allows it to drill an exploratory well.

According to Deal, the devastating effects of Dorian, the country’s participation in the Paris Agreement and the potential for any kind of spill next to the Cay Sal Bank, should have moved the government to turn away from any thought of oil drilling.

“You really don’t have to honor all contracts,” said Deal, adding that she and the Bahamas National Climate Change Committee are working with consultants on statistics, getting the country ready for its involvement in the Paris Agreement, which seeks to bring nations together in an effort to fight climate change. 

“We have now an actual climate change committee because we know it’s real and we know the country has to do 

something,” she said.

“We are now in the process of trying to do what we can do to save our country. To me, drilling at this point in time is like a slap in the face to the country that just suffered Dorian last year. To me, it does not make sense to go ahead with something just because we have a contract.”

Deal added that multilateral agencies that operate in The Bahamas are advocating for and funding renewable energy projects. She said The Bahamas has to continue to move further away from fossil fuel use and protect the country from the harm of a potential oil spill. She referenced the sinking Venezuelan oil tanker currently threatening the Caribbean with millions of gallons of oil as proof that the danger is clear and present.

“It’s ridiculous that we are putting our country in this kind of jeopardy,” Deal said.

“Have they (BPC) put it in their contract that if they do have any kind of an issue that they would, on behalf of us, take care of other lawsuits that come to The Bahamas? This is not a time The Bahamas should even be thinking of drilling for fossil fuels.”

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/deal-urges-govt-to-reconsider-contract-with-bahamas-petroleum-company/