Thursday, June 6, 2013
By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas could turn “oil into cash” and finance renewable energies from the royalties generated if ‘black gold’ is discovered beneath this nation’s waters, an oil explorer suggested yesterday.
Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) chief executive, Simon Potter, said such a move would be critical to the Bahamas’ energy security.
Mr Potter, a speaker at an energy security seminar hosted by the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), said there was a premium placed on locally-generated energy, or oil.
BPC is aiming to drill for oil in the Bahamas, and has spent $50 million to date on the venture. Mr Potter said that if commercial quantities were discovered, the Government would take 25 per cent “off the top” and could use these revenues to invest in alternative energy sources.
“In my view, to be able to move energy around becomes quite inefficient. There is a premium, in my view, for locally generated energy, of which there are many options,” Mr Potter explained.
“There is solar, wind, and energy from sea, but these are expensive. They need development and they need to be invested in. What better way to provide those sources of energy to the people here in the Bahamas than through an oil revenue stream.”
The Government has announced it will permit BPC to engage in exploratory drilling to determine whether there are commercial quantities of oil in the Bahamas prior to any referendum, noting it was unlikely that the latter would be held prior to the 2015 second half.
Mr Potter said BPC supported the Government’s efforts to strengthen and modernise the country’s petroleum regulations.
“We have put together our own Environmental Impact Assessment, taking into account what we believe to be international standards. We are very confident that our plans will comply with new regulations, which we welcome and look forward to, making sure our future plans are in full compliance,” said Mr Potter.
“We spent $50 million to-date on remote exploration, but we will now need to drill a well. We have important data we need to incorporate into our well plans. It will take us a year to plan that well safely to execute in the latter half of 2014, and that’s when we will really see if we have commercial reserves of oil or not.
“As we go forward it will probably be a five to seven-year process while we look at the development options and, during that period, that gives us the opportunity to help develop, train and encourage skills in the Bahamas, as well as the support skills and services that could support such a new industry.”
Mr Potter said BPC was still looking to secure a joint venture partner going forward.
“We have two major sources of funding capital, the shareholders and a partner who finds the prospects of finding oil in the Bahamas equally high as I do, in which they would pay a premium to come in and join us in our license,” he explained.
“There has been interest amongst companies that do see a similar technical attractiveness to the prospectivity of the rocks here in the Bahamas.”
Mr Potter said BPC was hoping to bring its Bahamian Depository Receipt (BDR) share offering to the local investor market in the next few months.
Comments
VDSheep says...
The Bahamas is well place for renewal energy. Wind, solar, tidal, wave, hydro through Cuts ( put turbines at the bottom to turn generators), terminal energy, hydrogen energy and fuel cells etc. Although the long range energy economy will be Hydrogen. It is ludicrous that our colonial minded government(s) are still looking - only at the tourist card on the economy. Whereas; the need for foreign investment ought to be in the area of alternative energy. Bring investors in the various disciplines - let them set up on an island like Mayaguana, Cat Island or Abaco; give duty free on all research and development…, a Freeport energy research and development. Make the legislation to govern it - institute the curriculums in the various disciplines in COB and the university. Political parties come together with bipartisan plans for the Bahamas over 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 years on where the Bahamas ought to be with each party contributing to the plan when they are in power. We need to move forward - get away from the five year policy syndrome our politicians continues to keep!
Posted 6 June 2013, 1:15 p.m. Suggest removal
B_I_D___ says...
We can't even contain or transfer the oil at Clifton or up in Freeport without having spills, and you all think we are going to be able to put all the safety mechanisms in place for a full blown drilling operation, and have the disaster response team capable of dealing with a disaster way out on the remote banks? The US and other super power countries have a challenging time doing it, and we think in our backwards nation we can achieve it, heck no!! Sort out Clifton, Freeport and others, PROVE IT through what we have and are 'trying' to maintain at the moment, then...MAYBE...discussions can be had on drilling. Here's a question for you, have they gone into full blown containment of the recent spill out at Clifton yesterday? Are all the boom boats and such out there preventing it from spreading and collecting it off the top of the water? Let's see some pictures of our spill team in action containing the spill we have now...PROPERLY. Not just a pic of some guy in a hazmat suit on a beach for PR swing, I want to see the boats and equipment and the booms and all that stuff in operation...from YESTERDAY when it hit the press that there was a leak. Bring it on...prove to us you can do it.
Posted 6 June 2013, 1:32 p.m. Suggest removal
banker says...
When will Bahamians learn that BPC is a penny stock and that oil exploration is merely a vehicle for the stock play. They have not a hope in hell of finding oil, but will continue to flog this dead horse merely for making money on the stock. If there was oil, you can bet the big boys would be here in a jiffy, instead of these penny stock grifters.
Posted 6 June 2013, 2:59 p.m. Suggest removal
concernedcitizen says...
well put ,,,,,!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Posted 6 June 2013, 6:06 p.m. Suggest removal
Grillup says...
Agreed Banker............the entire scheme is to keep coming up wit fancy projections etc, bump the stock price up, and try make some money that way.
Posted 10 June 2013, 10:22 a.m. Suggest removal
Madalina says...
In my personal point of view renewable energies are the new opportunities and possibilities to help us in saving the main and exhaustible natural resources. <a href="http://magazinonlinenou.wordpress.com/">Thank</a> you!
Posted 5 November 2014, 3:38 a.m. Suggest removal
Dorian says...
Indeed there is solar, wind, and energy from sea, but these are expensive. On the other hand, they need development and they need to be invested in. It's true but there are the most intelligent forms to save other main resources. Thank you! <a href="http://radusandaandreea.wix.com/sanatat…">Dorian.M</a>
Posted 17 November 2014, 2:39 a.m. Suggest removal
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