Poor relations between the U.S. and Cuba and the lack of an oil-spill management agreement could make any future disaster far worse for The Bahamas, according to Jorge Pinon, a Research Fellow for the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University.
To face this threat, Pinon, former president of Amoco Oil Mexico and Latin America, is one of a number of oil experts pressing for a U.S./Cuba oil-spill management agreement.
Pinon believes it’s in the interest of The Bahamas to be party to such an agreement.
In fact, he’s expected to present his case by way of testimony before the U.S. Congress within the coming months.
The warning comes as exploratory oil drilling off the northwest coast of Cuba may commence as early as November, with an oil rig now en-route there from China.
Expected to delve 5,600 feet, the well will drill deeper than the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which last year was the site of the largest offshore oil spill in history from April 20 to July 15.
Jorge Pinon told Guardian Business the depth of the anticipated exploratory well, however, was less a reason for concern than its location and the absence of a specific agreement on how a disaster would be handled.
