Will Equinor sale pay for clean-up?

BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

KWASI Thompson, MP for East Grand Bahama, has asked the government about the status of the possible sale of Equinor and whether it would ensure sufficient funds are left in place to clean up any remaining oil spill in East End.

His comments came while speaking in the House of Assembly on Thursday during the debate concerning the Carbon Credits Trading Bill.

Mr Thompson expressed his support for the legislation.

“We think it is innovative, but we want to see the specifics of it, and we are calling for the government to ensure that every Bahamian has an opportunity to buy into it, to own it, and to benefit from it,” he stated.

Mr Thompson also raised environmental issues he wants the government to pay close attention to in East Grand Bahama.

In terms of Equinor, he noted there has been public commentary regarding the possible sale of the oil terminal in East Grand Bahama.

More than 100,000 barrels of oil were spilled at Equinor South Riding Point facility during Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.

“We wanted to understand the status of that sale. And, whether the government had given its approval for that sale. And whether the government is satisfied that there is sufficient protection to ensure that any leftover clean-up from Dorian has been sufficiently protected,” said Mr Thompson.

Mr Thompson indicated environmentalists had also expressed concern about a possible sale.

He said: “They wanted to know whether the government was putting something in place to ensure that if the facility is sold, and Equinor leaves the country, the company could fulfill its obligations to complete any leftover clean-up.”

Clean-up has been undertaken but still not completed.

Mr Thompson said: “They (Equinor) have been doing clean-up which is at a certain stage, but we wanted to ensure that the public is satisfied that protections and reserves are being put in place.”

Another issue raised was the importance of mangrove restoration in EGB, where Dorian had wiped out most of the mangroves.

He was particularly concerned about the govenrment’s denial of an application submitted by a local environmental group to replant mangroves in East Grand Bahama.

Mr Thompson indicated the Mangrove Replanting Project by Waterkeepers Bahamas and Save the Bays at the Coral Vita facility is extremely important, particularly to coastal communities in his constituency such as McLeans Town, Sweeting’s Cay, Water Cay, and Dover Sound.

He noted the MP for Pineridge (Ginger Moxey), and the wife of the Prime Minister (Ann-Marie Davis) had also visited the Coral Vita facility, where the mangrove nursery is located.

Mr Thompson stated that mangroves protect against storm surges.

“So, they have a very important project, and their application is to start with Dover Sound on the northern side of Grand Bahama,” he explained.

“They recently got a response from the Department of Environmental Protection and Planning (DEPP) where they denied their application to start this very important project.

“I am sure that the DEPP had their reasons for denying the application, but I wish the government to pay special attention to this and take a very close look at this because it is a very important project, and we 100 percent support it.”

Mr Thompson also noted there is an effort to get the public involved in planting mangroves.

“They are calling for public participation to replant mangroves in different areas. So, we ask the government to pay special attention to this, and take a good look at it and assist them in whatever deficiencies the government says they have, but do not put it on the back burner,” he stated.

The third matter he raised was about a dirt pile at Gold Rock Creek.

At the site, he said there is a mound of dirt about 100ft high on government property that is being removed.

“It is government property, and should be protected. I went out there and looked at it myself, and people are just coming and loading it on their property to sell. That is a huge problem, and it may just be as simple as putting a fence up to ensure that does not happen,” Mr Thompson said.

• This story originally stated that Mr Thompson's comments came during the debate of the Climate Change and Carbon Credit Initiative Bill – in fact it was during the debate on the Carbon Credits Trading Bill.

Comments

bcitizen says...

Only one goat and two birds were impacted.

Posted 16 July 2022, 2:22 a.m. Suggest removal

tribanon says...

The Norwegian government's sovereign fund is proposing to sell the Bahamas Equinor oil storage facility to an Estonian enterprise ultimately owned by none other than one of the UK's most wealthy and controversial business tycoons, namely Barclay David Rowland.

Mr. Rowland is an infamous UK tax exile, who having lived for many years as a "Non Dom" in Guernsey, returned to the UK in 2009 to play a big role in UK politics. He is well known in Swiss private banking partnership circles and was featured by name in the Panama Papers.

The following article about him appeared in the November 16, 2021, edition of the UK Daily Mail:

*"Call for Parliamentary inquiry into why banker {Barclay David Rowland} who loaned Prince Andrew £1.5million gave him the same amount in cash to pay it back: Tory donor David Rowland's bank said money was to 'cover living expenses'.*

*"Prince Andrew, 61, is reported to have taken a loan of £1.5m from David Rowland.*

*"Businessman Mr Rowland, 76, is a Tory party donor who owns Banque Havilland
Money reportedly transferred 11 days after Prince Andrew took out bank loan.*

*"According to Bloomberg, the bank noted the loan would 'open up business with royals'."
Former minister Norman Baker said there were 'significant questions' to answer
He added that Parliament should investigate the matter with 'some urgency'."*

The Bahamian Government's approval of the sale of this property to the new buyer should be conditioned on the seller (the Norwegian government) fulfilling its obligation to properly complete the environmental clean-up of the property areas toxically polluted by the enormous oil spillage attributable to the insecure failed storage tanks loaded with oil.

The Bahamian Government should also be seriously questioning, from a reputation standpoint, whether it is a good thing for the Bahamian people, and Grand Bahamians in particular, to have this property come under the control of someone like Barclay David Rowland.

Posted 16 July 2022, 12:43 p.m. Suggest removal

Baha10 says...

Both the BORCO and South Riding Rock Terminals are 50+ years old … OBAN proposed the most modern facility in the Hemisphere, but Politics got in the way and cost The Bahamas the largest investment in the Caribbean … not to mention protection against the current Energy Crisis by having the largest storage facility in the Region … oh well, who needs high paying jobs and low electricity and gas prices when you have mounting National Debt serviced by Sunshine and Rum!

Posted 16 July 2022, 2:29 p.m. Suggest removal

JokeyJack says...

Exactly. It is the high percentage of uneducated Bahamians who vote for these MPs over and over again, while complaining that "tings tough" I wonder if they is take dey broke down car to the same mechanic over and over and over and over, while dey ride bus?

Posted 16 July 2022, 2:39 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

Oban??? Nobody should be sad that we dodged that shady bullet. Those guys "appeared" to more interested in getting their hands on prime property and developing commercially than any oil drilling.

Posted 18 July 2022, 2:28 p.m. Suggest removal

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