With growing signs of an early election, the decision on whether to permit further oil exploration in Bahamian waters could very well rest with a Davis administration should the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) be successful in unseating Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis and the increasingly unpopular Free National Movement (FNM).

Though Minnis and several of his ministers have voiced opposition to oil drilling in Bahamian waters, his administration has yet to state a policy position on the issue.

Instead, Minnis has been “pandering” in repeatedly stating that he is against drilling in our waters, Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis told National Review.

Davis told us that his administration would be open to extending the licenses of Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) “within the established legal regime”.

“First of all, I will address it in accordance with legislation that is in place,” Davis said. “There is a legislative regime in place and we will follow that regime. We will follow the law and have it considered in the context of that legislative regime.”

When pressed on whether a Davis administration would green light BPC – his former client – for further oil exploration, Davis repeated, “Once it conforms with the laws and the regulations that are in place; unless there is something that is outside of that norm, that is what we will follow.”

Six weeks after announcing its first well – Perseverance #1 – failed to yield commercial quantities of oil, BPC announced last week its plan to secure an extension for its four southern licenses to drill another exploratory well in The Bahamas.

“Since announcing the results of the (Perseverance #1) well, the company has had a number of discussions with industry counter-parties in relation to a potential farm-out of the licenses, and the company is now working to formalize and launch an entirely new farm-out process via Gneiss Energy,” BPC said in an exploration update to investors.

It said, “Concurrent with the farm-out process, the company intends to exercise its right to renew the four southern licenses into a third exploration period at the end of the current second exploration period (at the end of June 2021).”

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