The big oil question

A few weeks ago, The Bahamas was alerted through media outlets that a ship was on the way to Andros to commence drilling for oil or drilling an exploratory well to determine how much oil was available in The Bahamas. This announcement prompted expressions of concern in some quarters and jubilee in other quarters and the debate heated up on whether to drill or not. On the one hand, the proponents of drilling spoke of job creation, contributions to our GDP (gross domestic product), possible debt reduction or elimination and contribution to the proposed sovereign wealth fund.

On the other hand, environmentalists and tourism sector proprietors and executives raised the alarm about the potential danger to the ecosystem and the potential harm to our beaches possibly causing irreparable harm to our number one industry. Two very different perspectives on the same issue. So, this brings us to our title of this article, what should we do about drilling?

There is obvious potential economic benefit, although this is somewhat clouded in the long term as the world moves in the direction of green energy as opposed to fossil fuels, but nevertheless, there is potential economic benefit. The exact potential is yet to be determined but there is some benefit. This could expand our economic offerings and create additional opportunities for Bahamians in terms of jobs, careers in the oil industry and the spinoffs that would impact the broader economy. There seems to be potential benefit and I do not believe this point is the center of the debate. The question is can drilling be done safely enough and can oil coexist in an environment where we depend on nature and the inherent beauty of The Bahamas for survival?

In order to give my opinion on it, I did some initial research and found that despite the positive benefits there are some real dangers of the oil industry that are well-documented. Among the dangers are direct harm to marine mammals during exploration, release of toxic drilling muds, habitat loss, the potential of catastrophic oil spills; like the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf a few years back. Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Tourism is our bread and butter, and it is sustainable and has potential for further development and increase. While many have predicted and speculated on the demise of tourism, the fact is it is a global industry that keeps expanding, notwithstanding the current pandemic. It is an industry that is easy to maintain and requires minimal maintenance unlike some other industries. With tourism, you build and furnish a building or buildings, train staff and you have a perpetual business that can last forever. There are challenges such as weather-related incidents like hurricanes and health-related risks as we are seeing now, but every industry has risks. Agriculture can be impacted by the same system shocks by which tourism can be impacted. Whatever the industry, external and internal shocks are possible.

We can increase our tourism offering and we can expand our base to include more eco-tourism, diving, specialized niche markets; and new product introductions like Airbnb have shown that more ordinary citizens can benefit from tourism. The death of tourism is not a reasonable assumption but the expansion of it is. We are currently overdependent on tourism, but it has been and will continue to be an absolutely viable product. If we diversify our economy, we have to do it in a way that is complementary to tourism rather than conflicting with. So, what are my thoughts on the drilling question?

The United States has long pursued a moratorium on offshore oil drilling because of the inherent dangers mentioned earlier. Their decision to protect these areas as well as arctic regions from drilling was based upon extensive environmental research and the overwhelming conclusion was there is a tremendous conflict and the potential benefits do not outweigh the risks and potential harm.

My conclusion is, until I am able to see research that shows that the potential harm to marine life, our environment and tourism product is minimal or nonexistent, I could not support drilling in The Bahamas. We live in a hurricane zone and if we mixed drilling and possible spilling in such an environment, we are courting potential disaster and irreparable harm.

Perhaps, as a country, we should be seeking to lead the way in green energy. We have more sun exposure than most countries in the world and this is much more compatible to sustaining our tourism product than an industry that has a history of conflict with tourism. When the Deepwater Horizon spill occurred, beaches were shut down, the fishing industry was irreparably harmed, jobs were lost in the tourism sector and the overall effects were not good to say the least. The Gulf region is still recovering years later. This should be a lesson for The Bahamas. I say no to drilling, unless someone can show how the two can coexist without severe potential damage.

• Pastor Dave Burrows is senior pastor at Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Feel free to email comments, whether you agree or disagree, to pastordaveburrows@hotmail.com. I appreciate your input and dialogue. We become better when we discuss, examine and exchange. 

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