Offshore oil drilling in the Bahamas is a big mistake

It almost sounds like a bad joke: “Offshore oil drilling in The Bahamas.”

It sounds so absurd because it is. The government of a country whose name is practically synonymous for paradise is giving the green light to an oil company to drill in its blue, pristine waters.

The British-owned Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) began drilling an exploratory well this week, the Sun Sentinel reported. The fact that it is just an exploratory well should not bring any comfort. BP’s Deepwater Horizon’s drilling of an exploratory well in 2010 resulted in more than 200 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

And like the BP Deepwater Horizon, as with any drilling operation, this is a disaster waiting to happen. But this plan to drill isn’t only worrying Bahamians. BPC’s five drilling licenses are not far from Florida’s coast, with one as close as 50 miles. A spill this close could devastate beaches along the US Atlantic as it is swept up the Gulf Stream. The drilling prompted 18 members of Congress, including the entire South Florida delegation, to send an urgent letter to Prime Minister Hubert Minnis asking to reconsider his government’s decision last week.

While Minnis has said he’s “totally against oil drilling,” our organization, Oceana, and other environmental groups are calling on him to take action to stop it. Minnis’ administration, he said, was “saddled” with the agreement and his legal team advised that, since the deal was signed, they “could not get out of it.” However, in an attempt to prevent an oil spill disaster before it happens, environmentalists have taken the case to The Bahamas Supreme Court looking to halt the drilling. The decision is expected to be announced on Saturday.