Offshore drilling still on the cards for Barbados
Friday May 06 2011 | 12:59 AM

The Government of Barbados continues to accept bids for the construction of an offshore site for the drilling of oil, but have set out important stipulations. 

This is according to Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy, Telecommunications and Immigration, Senator Darcy Boyce. 

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday following a tour of the Oil Spill Simulation Exercise being carried out at Hilton Barbados, Boyce said that while offshore drilling still remains viable, the Government will take its time in selecting a bidder, especially after the tragedy that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico last year. 

“Offshore drilling is still on the table, but we are not going to rush into offshore drilling without every care being taken to make sure, one, that the arrangements are in the best interest of Barbados, not only from an economic point of view, but also from the point of view of the environmental management. Indeed, part of the requirements for anybody who is going to do offshore drilling has got to be to provide an environmental management plan, a disaster management plan that is satisfactory to the EPD [Environmental Protection Department], and they have to sign off on that to say that it is adequate,” Boyce stated. 

The Minister said that in addition to the stipulation of an environmental management plan, and a disaster management plan, the successful bidder must provide a plan for the training of Barbadians in the area. 

“Not only do they have to have a plan for emergency management, but they also have to have a plan for training our people, or assisting us to train our people, to make sure that our local people are able to deal with situations as well,” Boyce said. 

He added that the EPD will be free to consult with any international organisations regarding advice on whether a proposed plan is sound or not. Similarly, he said that the Government has been seeking the advice of other countries who have more experience with offshore drilling and what is required to do it safely.