NASSAU, BAHAMAS- Our Islands, Our Future (OIOF), a coalition of Bahamian and international organisations and citizens advocating for a permanent ban on oil exploration in The Bahamas, is pushing back against claims made by Challenger Energy Group (CEG) in its 2024 Annual Report, calling them misleading and not supported by facts or logic.
Despite the expiration of all four of CEG’s offshore oil exploration licenses in The Bahamas, the company continues to assert rights it no longer holds, creating the impression that oil drilling in Bahamian waters remains viable. OIOF warns that such claims risk misleading both shareholders and the public, while ignoring the fact that more than 85 percent of Bahamians voted against future oil drilling in a national poll.
“As far as we know, Challenger Energy does not currently hold any valid oil exploration licenses in The Bahamas. Their rights expired over four years ago, and as far as we are aware, the Government has not granted any new licenses nor indicated an intention to do so,” said Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, Executive Director of Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF). “The language in their report seems to be speculative and misleading, and downplays their outstanding debts to the Bahamian people.”
OIOF also criticized CEG’s suggestion that The Bahamas may owe the company $500,000, citing “refundable advances” in its report. The coalition described such a claim as wholly inappropriate, noting that a foreign oil company with expired licenses and unpaid debts has no grounds to imply entitlement from a sovereign nation. The report also references an unresolved $500,000 insurance cost from the company’s failed 2021 exploratory drilling exercise, further raising questions about the risks and financial liabilities associated with its operations.
OIOF noted that in several instances, the Annual Report implies that CEG continues to hold, or expects soon to renew, Bahamian licenses. Statements such as “Challenger Energy holds four exploration licences offshore The Bahamas” and “the offshore exploration license is pending renewal” are, according to OIOF, unsubstantiated, as no such renewals have been confirmed by the Bahamian Government. The coalition also rejected CEG’s reference to The Bahamas as part of its “asset” portfolio, noting that to their knowledge, the company holds no active rights or permits.
“OIOF renews its call for the Government of The Bahamas to permanently ban oil exploration in Bahamian waters, once and for all,” said Andurah Daxon, Executive Director of Waterkeepers Bahamas. “We cannot allow oil companies with apparently expired licenses and unpaid debts to mislead investors while risking our country’s future.”
The coalition emphasized that The Bahamas is already suffering the worsening impacts of climate change, including rising seas, stronger hurricanes, and ecological degradation. Any attempt to revive oil drilling, OIOF said, directly contradicts the nation’s climate commitments and endangers the economy, marine life, and the fishing and tourism industries. Challenger Energy’s single exploratory well, Perseverance-1, drilled in 2021, was unsuccessful, and the company’s licenses expired in June of that year.
OIOF maintains its position that there is no future for oil drilling in The Bahamas.
