Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's recent declaration that the next Free National Movement administration would not allow oil drilling in Bahamian waters has hurt the country's reputation with international investors, according to the Council for Concerned Bahamians Abroad (CBA), a think tank.
Last week, Ingraham made the revelation in an interview with The Nassau Guardian.
Following the story, the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) lost a fourth of its share value.
BPC is licensed to conduct oil exploration and wants to drill a well in Bahamian waters by April 2013.
Yesterday, CBA called Ingraham's statements 'rash' and 'unwise'.
"The prime minister's public statements denouncing oil drilling are being viewed by the international investment community, already committed and invested in the project, as rash and irresponsible statements by a sitting prime minister, which may have lasting effects on the confidence of foreign investors in future Bahamian-based projects," the think tank said.
"In addition, major institutional investors have invested in this project. To pull the rug out from under these important investors and thousands of others could be a major problem for The Bahamas going forward."
The group said the issue of oil exploration in The Bahamas has "degenerated into a political football" instead of a real discussion on how the country can benefit economically if oil is found and harnessed safely.
"The bantering about oil exploration by all parties is unfortunate, in that this energy could and should be used to propose legitimate and much needed ways for the country and its citizens to benefit from any potential oil in The Bahamas," the group said.
"If oil is indeed within The Bahamas it would seem to behoove every political entity to do its best to see how to find and harvest the resource safely and profitably for the benefit of all Bahamians."
Last week, the prime minister also linked senior members of the opposition Progressive Liberal Party to BPC, including PLP Leader Perry Christie.
BPC began negotiating its current licenses and permits for oil exploration in 2005 with the former Christie administration.
Christie confirmed to The Nassau Guardian on Thursday that he is a consultant for Davis & Co., one of BPC's legal advisers.
He said BPC has benefited from advice he has given. PLP Deputy Leader Philip Brave Davis owns Davis & Co. Jerome Gomez, the PLP's candidate for Killarney, is listed as BPC's resident manager on the company's website.
Ingraham also told The Nassau Guardian that the country's waters are too pristine and dependent on tourism to risk drilling for oil.
"We've seen what happened in Louisiana with oil drilling," Ingraham said, referring to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which devastated the Gulf of Mexico.
According to its website, the Council for Concerned Bahamians Abroad (CBA) is an apolitical, non-partisan group of Bahamians abroad, and friends of The Bahamas concerned about policies and initiatives affecting The Bahamas, its people, its economy and its development.
The council's concerns include the protection and preservation of the economic and family interests of Bahamians residing or domiciled outside The Bahamas. A primary concern of the council is the impact of Bahamian governmental initiatives.

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