By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVISTS have described Bahamas Petroleum Company’s exploratory oil drilling as a “travesty” and a “sad day” in the country.

BPC “spud” an oil well on Sunday as environmentalists await word from the Supreme Court about its application for a judicial review over the process.

Joseph Darville, of Save the Bays, called the event a “travesty” with respect to the laws of the country and the supreme authority, which rests in the courts of the Bahamas.

“We were hoping by now we would’ve gotten some answer from the judge who is handling this situation, but up to now there hasn’t been any sort of decision made by the judge with respect one way or another and also Simon Potter himself (CEO of BPC) has large opposition to our presentation in the courts and one would’ve thought he would have the decency and respect of a sovereign nation to wait until the courts determine whether or not he had full authority to proceed with the drilling,” Mr Darville said.

“Now there are a multitude of objections that have already been raised on many, many levels but there has never ever been any consultation with the environmental groups in the Bahamas with respect to the impact that it would have on our seabed and into the ocean if there were a spill and it’s not a matter of if – it’s a matter of when there will be.

“For him to ….. go ahead and do it in contravention of this particular action is yet to be determined, it tells you plain and simply that he has no regard, no respect for the sovereignty of this nation and for the people that are striving to keep our environment and particularly our ocean clean.

“I cannot believe that is happening in our sovereign independent nation,” he said. “They are the modern-day pirates. The pirates have not yet been expelled from our country.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that the two environmental groups filed a judicial review application citing they and others were “misled” by Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira at a meeting in May 2018. It was claimed Mr Ferreira “gave a commitment to all present that there ‘never’ would be permission given for offshore drilling for oil in The Bahamas” at the meeting.

Yesterday, Bahamas National Trust Executive Director Eric Carey described news of the oil drilling as “a sad day”.

“We were hopeful that the courts would’ve at least given the country enough time to think it through,” he said. “I think we were all hoping that would’ve given us some breathing room. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to have happened.

“The fact that you know Simon Potter has to tell me that somebody’s drilling for oil in the country is also a bit disconcerting. We should’ve been told I guess….you know by the regulators.

“They should’ve announced that somebody is drilling for oil in our country. Not somebody drilling for oil in our country announcing it.”