Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Leslie Miller revealed late yesterday that the government is scheduled to sign a heads of agreement with the AES Corporation as early as Tuesday for a liquefied natural gas plant in The Bahamas.
Minister Miller, the former trade and industry minister who still has responsibility for LNG, said the Bahamian people are set to reap significant benefits from the project that will be built on the uninhabited Ocean Cay, near Cat Cay and Bimini.
AES, which had been fighting for approval for more than five years, also intends to run a pipeline to Florida to provide LNG for that state.
Minister Miller said the agreement the government plans to sign next week provides for an annual license fee of $9 million, a seabed lease fee of $6 million, as well as other fees.
“We expect that in the first year of operation the minimum amount realized by the people of The Bahamas would be $25 million and that could escalate as high as $87 million per annum,” the minister told the Bahama Journal.
“The good thing about this industry is that thereﾒs going to be many spin-off industries in the further diversification and expansion of the economy of The Bahamas because a lot of small industries will feed off the LNG industry, so that is going to get a lot of Bahamians involved.”
He said both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have advised the government to approve a regasification terminal to assist in diversification of the Bahamian economy.
But the government continues to face objections in some circles to LNG projects with some people fearing that there would be harm to the environment, and that LNG terminals would become ideal targets for terrorists.
As the attorney general did when she revealed earlier this week that the government was negotiating a heads of agreement with AES, Minister Miller assured that the government has addressed these concerns and he said after the signing the LNG issue will be squarely in the domain of Energy and Environment Minister Dr. Marcus Bethel and the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission.
“I just think that we need to appreciate that there is a certain mindset of many Bahamians that in fact they see tourism, which is our number one industry, and they donﾒt see any need for us to have heavy industry or for us to industrialize The Bahamas,” Minister Miller said.
“I think that they need to appreciate that the manner in which the world is moving now [makes] it imperative that you diversify your economic base so that if there is a downturn in one sector of the economy, you have other sectors that can pick up the slack, especially with regard to the revenue stream that the government has in place.”
He also assured that certain safeguards were being put in place.
“All of the safeguards with regard to the environmental aspect are in place,” Minister Miller said. “Thereﾒs a management agreement that Dr. Bethel and those are having enforced. I think that the Bahamian people can sleep comfortably tonight knowing that all safety aspects associated with a regasification terminal will be in place. There are stringent measures that Dr. Bethel and his team have put in place.”
The minister said the whole exercise leading to the approval has been “long, tedious and drawn out” because the government wanted to be sure it would make its decision based on facts, not emotions. He said the government has taken advice from all relevant experts.
“The LNG industry is far and above the safest petrochemical industry in the world,” added Minister Miller, reiterating a point he has been making over the past four years.
“They have a track record that is of envy to the world. In the last 50 years of operating LNG regasification terminals there hasnﾒt been a loss of life. Thereﾒs been no loss of life on LNG ships that ply our waters on a daily basis from Asia, Africa and of course Trinidad and Tobago.
“So, I am very pleased that we are at this juncture in signing, and I look forward to next week when the formal agreement will be signed for The Bahamas, and the people of The Bahamas.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
