Perry Christie’s lack of transparency on certain issues is as murky and as dense as an oil slick... ...When did he become a consultant to Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC)? ...How much was he paid? ...How often did they consult with him?

Perry Christie’s oil slick

Front Porch

BY SIMON

Referring to their twin island-nation’s oil wealth, some Trinidadians and Tobagonians liked to brag, “oil don’t spoil”.  It may not spoil in the ground.  But the potential to spoil rotten, some politicians, public officials and others is legend.

Speaking ahead of the gambling referendum in January, Bahamas Faith Ministries International President Dr. Myles Munroe sounded this dire warning: “Any government pressured by a small lobby group such as the gaming bosses will inevitably produce corruption.  And if this referendum goes through we will never have a pure government again.”

Bahamaislandsinfo.com further reported: “He [Dr. Munroe] also stated that the motivation of the referendum of the governing authority seems to be the surrender to the powers with money.  In other words he said that the government cannot rightly govern because they will owe allegiance to the few and not to the citizenry or the people of The Bahamas.”

The pastor’s warning is noteworthy.  The nature and role of leadership have been central themes of Dr. Munroe’s ministry.  The quality of leadership at various levels of society will be pivotal in the debate on oil exploration.

For its part, the Bahamas Christian Council has gotten off to a poor start.  The council’s economic committee chairman Rev. Patrick Paul specified the type of arrangement he thought best to distribute the proceeds of oil wealth, calling a supposed arrangement “categorically unjust, injurious and unfair to the democracy of our nation”.

God bless Paul.  But, he seems like a potential groom planning for a joint bank account and mortgage with a woman whom he hasn’t even asked to marry him.  The reverend has gotten things in the wrong order.

A prior question is whether there should be drilling in the first place, which is what then Opposition Leader Perry Christie solemnly promised the Bahamian people his government would ask in a referendum.  He has spectacularly reneged on his promise.

Calculated flip-flop

Christie’s latest calculated flip-flop clarifies the quality of political leadership the country needs in considering oil exploration.  Good governance and good leadership on this issue will require leaders of great prudence and profound judgement.

Christie has exhibited a stunning lack of prudence and extremely poor judgement on the matter of oil exploration.  With the disclosure of his work for Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC), Christie, seemingly caught off guard, listed some of his duties as a consultant for the company.

“If there is an issue they need advice on, whether or not they need someone to speak to the issue of environmental impact [studies], the issue of whether or not in my judgment a matter is worthy for the government to approve, whether or not an application is ready, whether or not they should employ and who go on the board of directors, whatever views they ask of the firm regards it as necessary, they would consult me on it.  Those are the services I provide,” he said.

This is more than the work of an attorney.  His duties appear political and operational.  He would be considered a lobbyist in some jurisdictions.  Further, what did he mean by, “whether or not in my judgment a matter is worthy for the government to approve”?

If there are clear guidelines, it is not up to anyone’s judgment, including Christie’s, as to whether a matter “is worthy for the government to approve”.  Such murkiness is worrisome in what should be a highly regulated field.  Is Christie also following this approach as prime minister?

During last year’s general election campaign, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham noted: “When Mr. Christie agreed to become a consultant for the company [BPC] it would have been with the full knowledge and intention of using his position, past and present, and his access to government agencies, whether as government or as former government, to influence a decision by the Bahamian government with respect to any application by that company.”

Stringent guidelines

In quite a number of democracies there are stringent guidelines to limit the revolving door and conflicts of interest of politicians and public officials moving in and out of government, potentially using their public positions to benefit private clients.  One key measure includes a waiting period before one can work as a consultant or lobbyist for various clients.

Christie’s revolving door seems like a turbocharged merry-go-round: Between 2002 and 2007, his government issued certain licences to BPC.  Out of office he became a consultant to BPC.  Now back in office, his government has issued an exploration license to BPC, while delaying his promise to hold a referendum on oil drilling.

Christie’s lack of transparency on certain issues is as murky and as dense as an oil slick.  When did he become a consultant to BPC?  How much was he paid?  How often did they consult with him?

In addition to the prime minister, neither Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis, whose law firm represented BPC, nor Senator Jerome Gomez have been transparent or forthcoming with their compensation terms and arrangements with BPC.

By his own admission, Christie was a general consultant to a corporation wanting to drill for oil in The Bahamas while he was in Parliament, while he held the position of leader of the opposition, and while he fully expected to again become prime minister.

Further, did Christie express that he expected to be paid handsomely for his advice?  And, how handsomely was he paid.  The Bahamian people have a need to know?

Essentially, Christie advised his clients on how to go about achieving their ultimate objective – which is to drill for oil in The Bahamas.  And it was not just legal advice, it was advice on environmental issues, preparation for government approval, who to employ, who to put on the board of directors, and a catchall “whatever views they ask of the firm”.

In light of all of this, we are expected to believe that the prime minister has an open mind on whether or not there should be oil drilling in The Bahamas?

Christie’s clients were not some ordinary citizens requiring legal counsel who may have had sometime in the future a matter before the government of The Bahamas.  These were a corporation whose sole purpose for being in the country is to drill for oil.  Even if he did not become prime minister, as leader of the opposition, Christie knew that at some point he would have to address this issue in Parliament.

Christie himself must have recognized the position he was in when he and his government decided not to proceed with the promised referendum but to give the company the right to drill anyway.

Why on such a momentous national issue and stunning flip-flop did he not make the statement himself but left it to his minister for the environment?  Christie continues to abuse our trust.  And, he is more interested in putting the needs of foreigners first, instead of the Bahamian people.

By his own actions and admission, the prime minister has demonstrated that he and his government cannot be trusted on the momentous question of oil drilling.  His revolving door and flip-flopping constitute an oil slick that grows bigger and continues to spread.

• frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com

April 04, 2013

thenassauguardian

Bahamas National Oil Spill Committee is set to present its disaster management plan...

Oil disaster management plan to be presented
By MEGAN REYNOLDS
Tribune Staff Reporter
mreynolds@tribunemedia.net:


THE National Oil Spill Committee is set to present its disaster management plan today as it was revealed that "favourable winds are the only thing preventing the Gulf of Mexico spill from reaching the Bahamas.

As the committee prepares to confront the world's worst offshore oil disaster, weather predictions suggest the current prevailing wind direction will protect the Bahamas until Tuesday, however a change in wind pattern is expected to move the oil towards the western Bahamas.

A detailed national strategy devised with two International Maritime Organisation (IMO) experts will be presented to committee chairman, Captain Patrick O'Neil and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) director Captain Stephen Russell today and passed on to Environment Minister Earl Deveaux.

The multi-agency committee will also meet with the IMO and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today as Florida braced for an oil sheen containing thousands of tar balls, heavy globs of decayed oil, to reach the white sand beaches of Pensacola on the west coast.

However, southern winds predicted over the next five days will keep surface oil in the Gulf and west of Florida, Department of Meteorology chief climatological officer Michael Stubbs said.

"The winds are providing a protective barrier in the meantime," he told The Tribune.

"But the news now indicates the oil has entered the loop current, which feeds directly into the Gulf Stream and that moves towards our western shores.

"Ultimately, that is our concern, that it could end up in the Gulf Stream.

"However right now there is no need to panic, at least until Tuesday next week."

If the wind changes direction and spreads to the Florida Keys it will take about a week to then reach the Bahamas, National Oil Spill Committee spokesman Eric Carey said.

"We feel confident that the weather patterns are still in our favour," he said.

"Most of the currents are pushing it on shore of the Gulf and keeping it away from the Bahamas.

"But if it gets into the Florida Keys it would be an indication that it would be here in a week or so, and whatever gets to Florida and the Keys, we will probably get the same type of material."

Oil slicks are not expected but tar balls could drift towards the western coastlines, Mr Carey said.

As it will not be possible to install a 600-mile long boom to protect the Bahamas' western shoreline, the national strategy will involve booming key areas and cleaning up affected rocky shores.

Mr Carey said: "If we can boom off beaches we will have to clean up other areas like rocky shores as much as we can."

Meanwhile scientists are collecting evidence of tar-free shorelines, and having completed field work in Cay Sal Bank, the westernmost point of the Bahamas 145km west of Andros, they will move on to Bimini and other western coastlines to document baseline samples from sediment and fish.

Leading marine ecologist Dr Ethan Freid and marine biologist Kathleen Sealy will start training of more than 20 volunteers from Andros, Exuma, Abaco and Grand Bahama at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) base in Coral Harbour on Monday.

The volunteers will then return home and train others to help them collect samples from the islands.

Mr Carey said: "If in the future the Bahamas is going to claim to some international litigation process, that the Gulf oil disaster is responsible for effects we see on tourism, fisheries resources, blue holes or other water resources, then we will have to prove that these people were properly trained.

"And as this oil event continues in the Gulf we need to have very credible samples."

Samples will be kept in a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certified laboratory so they may be presented as evidence in court if the government decides to seek compensation for the clean-up costs and destruction from the spill.

The United States Justice Department announced on Tuesday it has launched criminal and civil probes into the spill.

Attempts to plug the well with mud failed over the weekend and subsequent efforts to cut off the fractured pipe and seal it hit a snag when a saw became stuck in a thick pipe on the sea bed on Tuesday, prompting a sharp decline in BP's shares on the stock market.

It is now estimated the oil could remain uncapped for two months or more as BP is drilling two relief wells to permanently plug the leak, but they are not expected to be completed until August.

The impact of the spill could be worsened by the impact of a cyclone, storm or hurricane in the Gulf this season which could hamper efforts to plug the spill and spread the oil.

Deep waters surrounding Cay Sal Bank, Abaco and Bimini are among the most important fishing grounds in the Bahamas and the extensive creek system on the west coast of Andros is largely protected by a national park boundary which the Nature Conservancy is hoping to extend with funding donated by Disney through the release of the child-friendly documentary "Oceans."

BP estimates the disaster has so far cost the company approximately $990 million in clean-up costs since BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 killing 11 workers and collapsing into the Gulf of Mexico.

June 03, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

...a shift in wind patterns is expected to propel the oil slick towards The Bahamas

Oil spill may reach Bahamas by weekend
By JASMIN BONIMY ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ jasmin@nasguard.com:



The worst natural disaster to hit the Gulf Coast is likely to reach local coastlines by the weekend, according to Chief Climatological Officer Michael Stubbs, who said a shift in wind patterns is expected to propel the oil slick towards The Bahamas.

In an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday Stubbs said that in pervious weeks weather conditions have kept the oil slick contained in the Gulf of Mexico.

"As it stands now the wind is not supporting movement out of the Gulf. It's keeping the oil particles that are floating along the surface in the Gulf of Mexico," said Stubbs.

"However as Friday approaches we see the weather pattern changing and what would happen then is the winds in the area would be flowing clockwise, making it possible for oil floating on the surface to make it to the notorious loop current. So once the particles move into the loop current the chances are [higher] for it [the oil] to reach our area."

The oil spill began on April 20 after an oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf, killing 11 people. It is estimated that oil is escaping from the collapsed rig's underground pipeline at the rate of 95 thousand barrels, or four million gallons, a day.

Stubbs, who heads a meteorological task force set up by the Ingraham administration to monitor the oil spill, said once the surface winds shift, oil sediments will most likely reach the Cay Sal Bank, Bimini, and western Grand Bahama - key fishing areas for the marine industry.

He said for this reason the government has already been warned to prepare for the likely arrival of oil in Bahamian waters.

"Some sort of action is necessary at least before the weekend so we can know where to access resources," he said. "Currently as it stands the government has taken a proactive position in that they have deployed vessels out there with scientists to get base line samplings. From that we can do some sort of clean-up plan or find ways to divert the oil using tools like booms."

On Monday, Minister for the Environment Earl Deveaux told The Nassau Guardian that the government is doing all it can to tackle the issue which has persisted for more than a month.

However, just five days earlier in a press conference, Deveaux admitted that The Bahamas is not prepared for the level of calamity that the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could cause the country.

He also explained that international and local agencies have been notified and will assist in the clean up efforts if the spill reaches Bahamian waters.

He added that local agencies are preparing to ensure that they have a response in time to mitigate a worst-case scenario.

Still, Stubbs insisted given the magnitude of the spill, it is a problem that will persist for months to come.

"We have to take into consideration that we are now approaching the official beginning of the hurricane season and we know that we are going to be faced with quite a bit of tropical disturbances, which means that even efforts by the relevant authorities to stop the leak or to clean up is going to be hindered more so as the season progresses.

"We also know that this time of the year the formation of cyclones usually originates around the Gulf of Mexico or the northern Bahama islands. So this means whatever actions we are going to take, we need to coordinate our efforts to make certain that we take the best measures towards our area becoming contaminated."

As local experts prepare for the impending threat, British Petroleum (BP), the company responsible for the sunken oil rig, has tried twice to stop the leak. The company's first attempt to divert oil leaking from the well using a 40-foot contaminant box failed on May 8.

The second effort to capture oil using a tube inserted in a pipe has been able to recover an average of 1,885 barrels of oil a day, according to a BP spokesman.

The company said on Monday that the spill cost BP about $760 million, or $22 million a day.

May 26, 2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Government expects British Petroleum (BP) to be responsible for Deep Horizon's oil spill clean-up operations in The Bahamas

Government expects British Petroleum to be responsible
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:


Environment Minister Earl Deveaux said the government is assuming it will not have to sue BP, operators of the exploded Deep Horizon oil rig leaking huge amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, which could possibly affect the Bahamas.

He said the government is keen to recover any money it may be forced to spend on clean-up operations, but noted that BP has indicated it will "foot the bill" created by the spill. Mr Deveaux said it is believed BP has a global fund that will come to bear if containment efforts have to extend to the Bahamas.

If this is the case, it will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs who handles the initial round of negotiations, he said.

Only if it became necessary for the matter to go before the courts would the Attorney General's Office be directly involved, said Minister Deveaux. He admitted that if, in the end, the government does have to sue BP, it would most likely be some time before the Bahamas receives any funds. The National Oil Spill Contingency Team is fully mobilised to respond to the spill, although officials are hoping the situation is contained before the oil slick has a chance to extend beyond the Gulf.

However, Mr Deveaux said he is not "particularly impressed" with the "fragmented" response of the US government to the crisis. He said he hopes the Bahamas' efforts will be "infinitely" more organised and effective.

It is feared that ocean currents could carry the spilled oil into Bahamian waters and devastate wildlife habitats in the north-western islands.

With the hurricane season approaching, bringing with it the potential for strong winds and increased tidal flows, the situation could be "very difficult if not impossible" to manage, Mr Deveaux warned.

He added that speculation about an impending disaster has fueled a "growing sense of helplessness and hysteria".

May 20, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International