By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2020 — Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and 17 fellow Members of the United States Congress have sent a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis and the Minister of the Environment and Housing, Romauld Ferreira, urging The Bahamas government to reconsider allowing the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) oil-drilling project to continue, “given the immediate and long-term impacts an oil spill and carbon emissions have on natural ecosystems, local economies, and the global climate crisis.”
The letter was sent electronically from Rep. Hastings’ Fort Lauderdale office on Thursday, December 17, and was also signed by Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Charlie Crist (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Francis Rooney (R-FL), A. Donald McEachin (D-VA), Al Lawson (D-FL), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Abigail D. Spanberger (D-VA), David Scott (D-GA), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), and Donna E. Shalala (D-FL).
Released on the website of Congressman Hastings’ Fort Lauderdale office, the letter states: “We write regarding the Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) offshore drilling project, the Perseverance No. 1 oil well, off the coast of The Bahamas. We believe you should reconsider the agreement established between your government and BPC to protect the beauty and longevity of our fragile and shared ecosystems, the economies that depend on them, and the future of our planet.
“As coastal and near-coastal Members of Congress, we have long fought to prevent oil spills, but the success of this work is directly dependent on the cooperation of other states, our federal government, and nearby nations. We and countless Americans remember the devastation and loss of life caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill,[1] for which Florida continues to require restoration funding.[2] That well, similar to that which BPC plans to bore, claimed 11 lives and spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying whole ecosystems and halting tourism and fisheries across the region. It has become clear that oil companies such as BPC have every intention to plow ahead despite red flags, which warn of the grave health, natural disaster, and environmental risks of drilling.”
Continuing, the letter added: “Should BPC’s project move forward, we will be justified in fearing that the Atlantic coast is at risk of severe, even catastrophic, impact from any spills that might occur – essentially undermining the recent offshore drilling ban extension from President Trump, and future offshore drilling restrictions. It is unclear whether BPC has the capacity to help mitigate a serious disaster, let alone prevent one in the first place. Should a calamitous event occur, the Bahamian government and BPC’s clean-up efforts will undoubtedly require financial assistance from neighbors, including the United States, to address any spill that would spread throughout domestic and international waters. For perspective, Deepwater Horizon cost an estimated $65 billion to clean up and the effects have yet to be fully alleviated.[3] What’s worse, the ship arriving on your shores to begin drilling has a track record of safety issues on previous jobs, including incidents in March 2016,[4] September 2016,[5] and October 2017.[6]
“Unfortunately, we believe the agreement reached between BPC and the Bahamian government is directly contrary to the urgent call made at the United Nations just last year.[7] In that speech, Prime Minister, you cited the contribution carbon emissions have made to the climate crisis and the devastating impacts this crisis continues to have on island nations like The Bahamas,[8] including those wrought by Hurricane Dorian, rising sea levels, and natural barrier degradation. These events are felt deeply by Americans and communities around the world, and expanding offshore drilling is fundamentally against their interests.”
It concluded: “We stand ready to work with your government to fight the climate crisis, a looming mass-extinction event, and oil and gas interests that seek only to profit off activities that truly put our respective communities at great risk. The health of our constituencies, oceans, and planet hinges on what actions we take here and now.”
The imminent start of oil drilling in The Bahamas has sparked a contentious in the island nation that is the United States’ closest neighbour, with the nearest island in the archipelago just 55 miles off the coast of Florida.
Prime Minister Minnis told the Nassau Guardian on December 14 that he is “totally against” oil drilling in Bahamian waters, but claimed that his government was “saddled with an agreement that we met there.”
“When we discussed it with the legal department we were advised that the commitment and everything was signed and basically we could not get out of it,” he told the Guardian. “But if we could’ve gotten out of it, believe me, I am totally against drilling for oil in our waters.”
Meanwhile, the arrival of the STENA ICEMAX, “a hulking 750-foot drilling vessel, into Bahamas this week signaled that a months-long battle over the blue waters of the Caribbean nation had come to a head,” according to the Internet blog MONGABAY, which is described as “News & Inspiration from Nature’s Frontline, in a December 18 article.
“This month, Bahamas Petroleum Company is set to begin exploratory oil drilling in Bahamian waters, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the Florida coast,” MONGABAY notes. “Environmental groups have approached the Bahamian Supreme Court, seeking an immediate stay on the company’s drilling operations; they say the government unlawfully granted permits to drill. The group Our Island Our Future (OIOF) launched a campaign earlier this year after BPC made public its intention to start drilling. The coalition is made up of 41 Bahamian NGOs and businesses and more than 55 U.S.-based NGOs.”
MONGABAY notes that small-scale sporadic oil drilling “has taken place in the Bahamas over the decades, but the scale of BPC’s planned operation is many times larger.”
“Headquartered in the Isle of Man, a tax haven, the company (BPC) has five licenses to conduct exploration across 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) of Bahamian waters,” MONGABAY states. “It is currently singularly focused on the Bahamas. Its exploratory oil well, named Perseverance #1, will target reserves that the company says could produce between 770 million and 1.44 billion barrels of oil, worth anywhere between $50 billion and $100 billion. This is several times the GDP of the Bahamas ($12.4 billion).”
The MONGABAY article notes that offshore oil drilling has emerged as a hot-button issue in the U.S., and was featured prominently in the 2020 presidential race.
“The U.S. is the top crude oil producer globally and relies heavily on offshore fields for its crude oil and gas supply. Extensive oil and gas reservoirs are located offshore of Louisiana, Texas, California and Alaska. Offshore reserves in the Gulf of Mexico account for 17% of total U.S. crude oil production,” the article states.
It adds: “President Donald Trump announced a 10-year moratorium on drilling off the U.S. East Coast, effective until 2032. President-elect Joe Biden, who says he opposes new offshore drilling, accused Trump of pandering to voters. The eschewing of offshore drilling is seen as a win by environmental campaigners in the U.S. It has spurred advocacy against projects in nearby countries’ waters that could jeopardize gains from the ban.”
