Oil drilling in The Bahamas discussed during bilateral meetings at COP26
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday indicated his position on oil drilling has shifted following talks with experts, and world leaders at the UN climate conference, telling reporters he is not minded to allow oil drilling or exploitation at this time.
Davis spoke to the press after returning from the United Nations COP26 climate change conference.
He said the issue regarding the country’s current oil drilling practices was raised in bilateral discussions at the summit.
“For us, we have are reviewing the situation and we are moving towards monetizing our carbon credits so at the end of the day if we need new streams of revenues to provide the services our people need and I could get it from the monetization of my carbon credits, there’s no need to look at drilling,” the prime minister said.
Davis insisted that: “There are no extended oil drilling leases going forward.
“There is an understanding that the elimination of fossil fuel completely may be a pipe dream and or nothing that we will see in our lifetime, but it is something we all will be moving towards.”
Asked to state the government’s definitive position on oil drilling in The Bahamas, Davis said: “I am not in any definitive position right now but as I speak, having come from the COP26 conference and having had conversations with world leaders, having had conversations with technical people, I am minded not to allow oil drilling and for certain at this time. I’m not prepared to move to oil exploitation.”
The prime minister further explained that while there are two options to allow drilling the country — either by capping an oil well and monetizing the carbon credits or exploiting the oil found — he is not minded to do the latter, given the global shift from fossil fuels.
“With the world going the way it is, I will be going with the world,” he said.
While in opposition, Davis previously told Eyewitness News that he still supports the agreement struck with the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) now Challenger Energy to exploit the natural resource for the benefit of the Bahamian people — if it is found to exist in commercial quantities.
He also previously acknowledged that his law firm represented BPC for a brief period but said he severed ties due to what he perceived might be a conflict of interest well before the 2007 general election.
The company is now focused on renewing the licenses into a third, three-year exploration period and securing a partner — ideally a large industry player — to provide expertise and capital for the next phase of activity.
The company’s Perseverance #1 well represented the first exploratory drilling in The Bahamas since the mid-1980s and the first test of any prospect located in deeper waters off the shallower water carbonate banks. Drilling concluded in February of this year without incident and no discovery of commercial quantities of oil.
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