Atop executive at Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) says up to $50 billion could be invested before oil explorers even begin drilling far off the Bahamian coast.
Paul Gucwa, the chief operating officer at BPC, released the latest findings and projections for the oil company at the Grand Bahama Business Outlook last week. Estimating a total revenue stream of $38 billion for the government, he said full-scale drilling will not begin for another nine years, assuming the company strikes oil.
He also described the nature and location of a "world class trap" BPC is targeting near the Cuban border.
More than 5km wide and 75km long, Gucwa told Guardian Business the giant bull's-eye appears to be as promising and structurally sound as any he has seen in oil-rich nations such as Iraq and Iran.
"The structures are big. We need source rocks there that have successfully migrated into the trap," he explained.
The company is now in the process of continuing to sift through 3D seismic data, showing detailed representations of what lies beneath the ocean floor.
The BPC executive said $50 million will have been invested by the end of this year. A further $150 will be paid out exactly one year from now on any exploratory drilling, and if results prove positive, several more explorations should cost BPC between $500 million and $600 million over several years.
"By the time we do that, and understand we have a commercial operation, now we have to build the equipment and plan development," Gucwa told Guardian Business.
It will take years to build the rigs, prepare the equipment, and train and hire a great deal of Bahamians to help carry out the drilling. This process will cost between $30 billion and $40 billion.
Elements such as weather and hurricane season can easily complicate the matter, he said, bringing the timeframe until full-scale drilling begins up to nine years.
The current "trap" in the sights of BPC is indeed located not far from an oil-drilling hot spot.
In fact, Guardian Business has learned that a Russian company will drill an exploratory well just 100 km away from the proposed site. While Gucwa said he hasn't seen their seismic data, he expressed confidence "they are likely seeing very similar stuff to what BPC is seeing".
Meanwhile, China has also begun drilling in the general region, with a further four wells slated to begin in the near future.
This proximity to an apparent drilling hot-bed should come as welcomed news to investors.
While already listed on the London Stock Exchange, the BPC executive anticipated a local listing should occur in the next few months. Paperwork continues with the Bahamas International Securities Exchange and the Securities Commission, he added.
In a further move to localize the company, two Bahamian directors will be appointed to BPC in the next couple of weeks.
"This is so we can be more in touch with Bahamian beliefs," Gucwa told Guardian Business. "I assume they will be important members of the board. They will provide council and constructively challenge whatever the board opposes."
Environmental issues remain one of the persistent worries concerning oil drill in The Bahamas. BPC submitted the first draft of the environmental impact assessment back in September 2011.
In the event of an oil spill, BPC estimates less than one-tenth of a percent would reach Bahamian shores without intervention, making the threat to the country negligible.
The vast majority of oil would impact Cuba, Gucwa said, making international cooperation crucial to the process.
There is approximately a 25 to 33 percent chance oil indeed lurks under the Bahamian ocean floor.

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