The FNM’s deputy leader yesterday argued that the petroleum industry’s true value lay in refining, and said the Government need not determine whether commercial quantities of oil exist in the Bahamas before putting the issue to a referendum.

Mr Turnquest, in his a contribution to the House debate on the revised Petroleum Bill and Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, said there was expectation that if commercial quantities of oil are found in the Bahamas, lower gas prices will follow.

“We have looked at all of the oil producing countries that do not refine. Their gas prices at the pump are as high, if not higher, than the so-called importing countries of oil. The value is in refining,” said Mr Turnquest.

  He added that it was dangerous to suggest that a referendum on oil exploration should come only after commercially viable quantities are discovered.

The Christie administrated announced back in 2013 that if commercial quantities of oil are discovered in the Bahamas, it would engage the Bahamian people in an extensive public information programme to ensure that all facts were made available before a national referendum.

The Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) currently has five active exploration and production licenses which extend into 2018. Kenred Dorsett, minister of the environment and housing, has clarified in the past that there would be no referendum necessary in respect to such exploration drilling.

“The suggestion that a referendum will come after commercial quantities are found is dangerous. It seems like the Government wants to say let’s drill and find if there is oil, and then we are going to say to the Bahamian people we have billions of dollars sitting in the ground and now we want to come now with a referendum to approve or disapprove,” said Mr Turnquest.

“We don’t need to determine whether there is oil in the ground to determine whether we want to go down that road or not. We know what the risks are. We can make the decision today. Put it to the Bahamian people as promised.”