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Brief history of the country
The Bahamas (officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas) are in the Lucayan Archipelago and consist of over 700 islands and cays in the Atlantic Ocean. The largest is Andros but the capital lies on New Providence.The country is north of Cuba, northwest of the Turks and Caicos, and southeast of Florida.
Originally inhabited by the Arawak Lucayan (Taino) people from 1,100 AD, the Bahamas was the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492.
The Spanish shipped all the natives to slavery in Hispaniola and the islands were mostly deserted until 1648 when English colonists from Bermuda settled on Eleuthera.
A haven for pirates, piracy was suppressed by the British when the Bahamas became a Crown colony in 1718.
After the American War of Independence loyalists to the UK settled in the islands, along with their slaves, and Africans now constitute the majority of the population. The country also attracted freed slaves after abolition in 1834.
The UK made the Bahamas self-governing in 1964 and the country became an independent realm of the Commonwealth in 1973. The Bahamian economy depends on tourism and finance.
Oil and gas summary
The Bahamas are carbonate banks cored by volcanic basement. All the islands are low and flat, with ridges that usually rise no more than 15 to 20m. The highest point in the country is Mount Alvernia on Cat Island which has an elevation of 63m.
The carbonate banks formed in the Late Jurassic in shallow waters and are faulted and tilted in response to continued subduction of the North American plate under the Caribbean plate.
The onshore geology is not suitable for the generation and accumulation of commercial volumes of oil and gas onshore. Offshore, apart from a limited number of exploration wells drilled through the years, the first in 1958, The Bahamas have no history of drilling and no production.
However there may be some potential in deep waters on the US side, particularly for gas, and the Bahamas Petroleum Company is trying to kick start exploration with exclusive licences over a number of areas. It is also encouraging the government to introduce a new Petroleum Bill.
Nevertheless Globalshift does not forecast any future production of oil or gas in the country.
THE BAHAMAS
Map and National Flag
CENTRAL AMERICA
Secluded bay
Central America
Capital
Population
Land area (sq kms)
Oil prod (000s b/d)
Gas prod (bcm/yr)
Oil cons (000s b/d)
Gas cons (bcm/yr)
Nassau
0.34 mm
13,943
None
None
25
None
Government
The Bahamas is a parliamentary monarchy (UK) represented by a Governor-General. Political and legal traditions also follow those of the UK.
Legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, which consists of a 38-member House of Assembly and a 16-member Senate, appointed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister is the head of government.
The Ministry of Environment and Housing oversee oil and gas operations.
The Bahamas Petroleum Company is an exploration company with 100% owned offshore licences exclusively focused on the The Bahamas.
BAHAMAS: LICENCES:
Globalshift.co.uk (source: Bahamas Petroleum Company)