Determination on some of the new applications for oil exploration licenses potentially worth billions of dollars, remain tied to negotiations with neighboring countries — including Cuba — over maritime boundaries, The Nassau Guardian has learned.

Last Friday, the government gazetted applications submitted by two petroleum groups seeking to explore parts of the northern and southern Bahamas.

Some $12 billion in revenue could be waiting to be discovered, with the potential to create thousands of jobs.

One of the partnerships is the joint venture of BPC, registered under the name of Privateer Petroleum, which has teamed up with Norwegian oil giant Statoil to search in three locations on the Bahamian side of Cay Sal Bank.

Another seven locations north of Grand Bahama are subject to applications covering five million acres from a partnership between Atlantic Petroleum Limited and Bahamas Petroleum Limited.

Gilles Deal represents the energy section of the Environment Ministry on the government's negotiation team on border demarcation.

This multi-agency team has been working through the United Nations boundary delimitation committee to clarify the borders of the country.

Deal told The Guardian that the discussions with Cuba are ongoing, with The Bahamas having had a recent meeting with the country. He said The Bahamas is waiting on Cuba to return after these talks, in the next few months, to determine the next step in the process.

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