The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS-BASED oil exploration company has spent almost $50 million on its oil exploration efforts here in the Bahamas thus far, its chief operating officer noting that while a review of its environmental impact assessment was "in progress" it was undertaking further studies in order to be prepared to spud. Dr Paul Gucwa, the Bahamas Petroleum Company's (BPC) chief operating officer, told Tribune Business yesterday: "We did submit our environmental impact assessment back in November and we're working with the Best Commission on clarifying that and moving forward but that's still in progress. By the licenses the government has 90 days to review that. That's something that's in progress." He added: "Environmental regulations and protection are something over and above the environmental impact assessment. That's work that the government is undertaking to put those regulations in place and from our perspective its important that they be in place." Dr Gucwa said most of the money the company has spent so far has been on seismic testing and processing. "In addition to that there were some other studies, 2D seismic, collecting all the well information from the previously drilled wells, having our consultants work it up. We did multi-beam high resolution sea bottom survey and the of course all the costs associated with the environmental impact assessment." He added: "There will be further studies we need to do that we are beginning to undertake in order to be prepared to spud. We will be doing an emergency response plan, an EMP. We will do further work on our oil spill model and then over and above all that the Bahamas government wants to have regulations in place to govern the activity. That's something that's out of our hands, that the Ministry of Environment is working on." Dr Gucwa said the company expects to spend close to $1 million on its environmental studies. He said the company, which has its Bahamian offices in East Bay Street's Montague Sterling Centre, was hopeful it could begin its operations as early as December 2012, telling Tribune Business: "Our licenses require us to spud a well by April of 2013." When asked about the status of Bahamas Petroleum's negotiations on a joint venture tie-up with an oil major to begin exploratory drilling in this nation, Dr Gucwa said: "We are in discussion with several companies."