Responding to the onslaught of opposition from environmental groups, both local and international, Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) stated in a press release yesterday that the groups are misinformed about the environmental threat from the company’s exploratory well expected to be drilled this month. It contends that there is a “silent multitude of Bahamians” in favor of the country exploring for oil.
Chief Executive Officer of BPC Simon Potter said in the release that the Bahamas government is exercising its sovereign right to know if oil exists in this country. He explained that the well will be capped when the exploration exercise is complete.
“Now more than ever, with the islands facing economic fragility, suffering from both the aftermath of hurricane damage and the impact of COVID-19, a successful discovery has the potential to boost government revenues by billions of dollars in royalties and allow for the creation of new contracts and jobs,” Potter said.
“Based upon our extensive interactions with communities throughout the islands over many years, we believe there is a silent multitude of Bahamians who are in favor of knowing the outcome of our 45-60 day fact-finding exercise, named Perseverance #1.
“But as we have stated time and again, oil will not actually be produced from this exploratory drilling activity. Once scientific tests establish if oil is present, the well will be permanently sealed. We firmly believe that the people of The Bahamas have a right to know if this resource exists, which could deliver considerable wealth for not only this generation of Bahamians but for future generations to come.”
The Bahamas National Trust recently publicly voiced its opposition to drilling or oil in The Bahamas, while grassroots coalition “Our Islands, Our Future”, which is focused on stopping oil drilling in The Bahamas, is in the process of filing judicial review proceedings to query the oil company’s environmental approvals process.
The company noted in its statement that it has gone through rigorous environmental protections processes, having been preparing for ten years and spending “more than $110 million”.
It added that the groups opposed the drilling have “significantly exaggerated” the risks of drilling and are “ill-informed” about the environmental precautions and technical expertise behind the exploration process.
“Indeed, BPC notes that it is precisely because of these extreme precautionary environmental measures that in the past 10 years, over 10,000 offshore oil wells have been drilled safely and without incident all around the world,” the statement pointed out.
“This includes in Cuba, in other parts of the Caribbean and in other areas with extensive tourism and fishing industries, such as the Mediterranean.
“In February 2020 the government of The Bahamas granted BPC an environmental authority (EA) to drill this single exploratory oil well in Bahamian territorial waters adjacent to the Bahamian/Cuban maritime border.”
“Whilst planning work has been ongoing for many years, the actual drilling is scheduled to commence in late December 2020. However, a coalition of environmental interests has engaged a local lawyer and is threatening legal action, with a view to halting BPC’s proposed activity as approved by the government.”
Potter added, “The government of The Bahamas, in seeking to responsibly develop a new revenue stream, has implemented strict laws and regulations to govern petroleum industry operations and ought to be commended for both their commitment to ensuring the well-being of the people of The Bahamas, as well as ensuring rigorous attention to environmental compliance.
“They have done so by introducing an upgraded, modernized and strengthened Petroleum Act and associated petroleum operations, health and safety and environmental protection-related regulations. Consistent with this approach, BPC’s planned activities have been subjected to a thorough, comprehensive process of review and scrutiny over many years by many scientists and experts in their individual fields.
“In gaining environmental authorization, BPC was required to demonstrate compliance with all applicable Bahamian laws. In regards to the drill ship, this included all maritime requirements, like any other vessel operating in Bahamian waters. Over and above this the project had to demonstrate it adhered to all applicable guidelines, international standards and best practices as demanded by the legislation of the Bahamian government.”
Environmental groups have voiced concerns that the drill site is too near sensitive fishing grounds and the environmentally fragile west coast of Andros.
But the statement sought to debunk those concerns, stating that the drill site is in a busy shipping lane heavily used by oil tankers and is more than 90 miles from Andros.
“The well site is not in a marine protected area and is remote from regular Bahamian fishing and tourism industries,” the statement pointed out.
BPC’s lead environmental scientist Roberta Quant said in the statement that the Old Bahama Channel, the area where the well will be located, “already typically sees three million barrels a day of oil pass through it, which is only likely to increase with the expansion of the Panama Canal and with access to the deepwater port at Grand Bahama.”
She added that given the position of Cuba’s oil field to BPC’s test well, “There is already considerable ongoing oil production activity and associated refining and terminal capacity in the area,” as Cuba is “as close to the drilling location as the island of Andros.”
Quant said the company’s environmental submissions to the Bahamas Environmental Science and Technology Commission – now the Department of Environmental Protection and Planning – for approval to drill its Perseverance #1 well “exceeded all local Bahamian requirements and was prepared in accordance with national and international industry best practices.”
“We systematically identified, addressed and documented a comprehensive list of environmental concerns relevant to the proposed exploration activities,” she said.
“Throughout the process we engaged multiple international environmental science and safety consultants, as well as some of the world’s largest and most respected oil field services companies including Halliburton, Baker Hughes, GM and Schlumberger. The drill ship that will drill Perseverance #1 is one of the most modern and impressive worldwide, with many sophisticated integrated safety systems.
“Observations have also been taken of marine, mammalian and bird life in the area. In total, the considerable body of work required to secure environmental authorization amounted to a total of approximately five full-time ‘man years’ and the expenditure of millions of dollars.
“It is worth noting that all of our documentation was reviewed by multiple external parties, including in particular by a leading international environmental consultant firm hired by and working exclusively for the government. It was only after their sign-off was obtained that the EA was granted.”
The post BPC seeks to quell environmental concerns appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bpc-seeks-to-quell-environmental-concerns/
No comments:
Post a Comment