The Bahamas archipelago, approximately 130 miles (209 km) from the US, has long been known for its beaches and is today emerging as an oil and gas frontier.

The last exploratory drilling to take place on the island chain was in 1986. Five new field wildcats have been drilled in The Bahamas, all but one offshore. Of the 77 stratigraphic tests in the region, none has yielded commercial amounts of hydrocarbons. However, in a recent flurry of activity, The Bahamas has attracted both minnows and major players to its hydrocarbon potential.

Geology and opportunity
The Bahamas are carbonate islands that rest on two large bank systems. The Little Bahama Bank is in the northern Bahamas; the Great Bahama Bank extends from central to southwestern Bahamas. The remaining islands are isolated small platforms. The bank systems are separated from one another by a deepwater basin, with depths to 13,000 ft (~ 4,000 m).

Bahamas, spotlight

A number of companies hold leases for areas offshore The Bahamas. (Map courtesy of IHS Inc., provided by Bahamas Petroleum Corp.)

The Bahamas archipelago may have been formed as a horst, or it may be the remnant of a larger platform. Shallowing-upward sequences are an important depositional theme in the development of the islands.

In 1Q 2007, Bahamas Petroleum Corp. (BPC) was granted a three-year exploration license for five blocks covering 6,053 sq miles (15,677 sq km) in the territorial waters and maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. BPC believes further studies, including new seismic, will result in the identification of drillable prospects. The company’s initial assessment of its existing acreage identified 18 leads – each with the potential to hold more than 500 MMbbl of oil.

Three of the four leads identified by BPC in the Miami license are in water depths ranging from 1,300 to 1,400 ft (395 to 435 m), with the fourth in shallow water at a depth of 49 ft (15 m). Target reservoir depths are between 10,000 and 20,300 ft (~3,000 and 6,200 m). In the southern licenses, all but five of the 18 leads are in water depths in the range of 1,460 to 1,800 ft (445 to 550 m). The five shallow-water leads are in 16 to 49 ft (5 to 15 m) of water. Target reservoir depths are between 5,413 and 28,737 ft (1,650 and 8,759 m). BPC is seeking partners for these areas.

BPC also has filed an application for three blocks offshore southwest Bahamas. Statoil has farmed in for an undisclosed interest and the operatorship dependent upon BPC’s application receiving government acceptance. Located in the Cay Sal area approximately 150 miles (241 km) east of Cuba, the blocks carry no drilling commitment during the first phase of the license. At the end of the initial three-year license term, there is an option to commit to drilling a well in the second phase. Limited vintage 2-D seismic and satellite data indicate the presence of several large structures in the license areas. BPC reports the likely carbonate targets will be at depths of 8,202 to 9,843 ft (2,500 to 3,000 m) or more in water depths to approximately 1,970 ft (600 m).

A third company, Offshore Petroleum Corp. (OPC) has been granted a preliminary award for eight offshore blocks totaling 50,088 sq miles (129,727 sq km) in the Black Plateau in water depths of 1,300 to 13,000 ft (400 to 4,000 m). The blocks are approximately 180 miles (290 km) off the Florida coast.

These blocks are part of the nine previously held by Kerr-McGee and carry leases for 12 years with a three-year exploration period. The identified prospects are in Cretaceous Albian and Aptian carbonates. OPC believes the area holds approximately 4 Bboe recoverable and is analogous to world-class oil and gas fields in Brazil, the Philippines, Tunisia, Libya, and China.

The players are in position and the strategies selected. The future of The Bahamas oil and gas sector lies in the hands of a few ambitious explorers.

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