The attorney general's office is expediting regulations to govern an oil sector in The Bahamas, moving to have the regulations in place ahead of an initially agreed schedule.
Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett said that the attorney general had initially given a timeline of the end of the year, but has committed to speeding up the process after receiving "constant requests from my office to do so."
Meanwhile, the minister noted that the government intends to establish a unit specifically responsible for regulation of the oil sector.
New regulations must be in place before the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) moves ahead with any exploratory drilling in this country.
Under the terms of its newly-renewed licenses to explore for oil, BPC must conform with the forthcoming regulations.
The oil company, which has invested just over $50 million on its data-gathering effort to date, is pursuing its "farm out" process at present which would enable it to partner with a larger international oil company that would set up and conduct drilling in return for a share of any revenues obtained.
Once such a company is identified, it would only be in-depth planning of the drilling activity and implementation of the regulations which would stand in the way of moving ahead with exploratory oil drilling.
Dorsett said: "The attorney general's office is working on that matter. They have given me a timeline of by the end of the year, however the AG has indicated she intends to expedite that time frame having regard to the constant requests from my office to do so.
"I think the people of The Bahamas should understand that before anything is done we need to ensure The Bahamas is prepared for it, and that is not only with regard to the legislative and regulatory framework, but also the capacity to address these things.
"I think that you will see in the future the creation of a new unit that's responsible for this, so we have the proper oversight and human resources available to us in The Bahamas to properly regulate and monitor such activities."
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