As a number of Caribbean nations set sights on developing potential deepwater reserves, concerns have surfaced about the region’s ability to respond to a Macondo-style subsea leak. The topic is especially prominent in a swath of sea where tourists, drawn by picture-perfect beaches and rich undersea life, are responsible for a large share of island income.
In September, officials from several Caribbean nations joined energy industry representatives in Port of Spain, Trinidad, to discuss lessons from Macondo and to lay the groundwork for a regional emergency response effort. The inaugural ‘One Caribbean – One Response’ forum drew about 100 participants from eight countries, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago. The roster of speakers included the former US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation & Enforcement director, Michael Bromwich, who oversaw the restructuring of the US offshore regulatory regime after Macondo.
Lee Hunt, president emeritus of the International Association of Drilling Contractors and organizer of the conference, said the region has sufficient capacity for surface spill containment but lacks equipment to handle the ‘third dimensional’ nature of a subsea blowout.
‘They know they need to have industry provide the capacity and the resources to handle that third dimensional problem, a subsea response,’ he said, adding that Trinidad & Tobago, which has existing offshore oil and gas infrastructure and is less reliant than its neighbors on tourism, would likely serve as a response staging hub and storage site for a well containment system.
Trinidad’s energy minister Kevin Ramnarine has aggressively sought to position the nation as a regional energy hub, Hunt said. ‘He wants to promote Trinidad being the hub for any spill response planning in the region, as well as a hub of general deepwater drilling services for the surrounding companies. They have the infrastructure, they have the ports, they have the harbors, they have the facilities.
‘So rather than duplication [of response systems], I think centralizing a staging area is very much part of his plan, as well sharing the very robust spill response plan that has just been developed for Trinidad & Tobago.’
Spain’s Repsol launched a deepwater drilling program off Cuba this year. Exploration offshore the Bahamas is planned, pending results of an April 2013 referendum on offshore oil & gas activity. A consortium led by Shell has spudded the first deepwater well off French Guiana, while Trinidad recently granted leases for offshore blocks to a number of operators, including BP.
Cuba’s entry in deepwater E&P just months after Macondo raised fears in the US that a spill could reach its shores and that the 50-year old US embargo could prevent American companies from offering well control help.
Officials from the US and Cuba are fine-tuning protocols of a joint spill response plan, including provisions that grant US companies authority to respond to an emergency in Cuban waters, Hunt said.
‘The professionals in the [US] State Department have come to recognize the significance of US interests in helping the region plan for a potential spill, including one in Cuba,’ he said. ‘My assessment is, the ability of Cuba and its neighbors, including the US, to respond to a spill in Cuba is 100% better than it was two years ago, although it’s not 100% complete.’ RM
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