The Promise and Peril of Jamaica’s Offshore Oil Ambitions
UK Sets January 2027 Deadline for Ban on Fuel Made From Russian Crude Kazakhstan auctions 30 exploration blocks… Felicity Bradstock is a writer and journalist based in Mexico City.
She writes for energy websites and covers several other industries, as well as writing… Jamaica may be following in the footsteps of its Caribbean neighbours, such as Guyana, as it plans to drill for oil, despite being highly vulnerable to climate change.
In recent years, Caribbean oil exploration has boomed, following successful drilling in Guyana and Suriname.
But, at a time when the International Energy Agency (IEA) is calling for an end to exploration, will Jamaica pursue a future in fossil fuels? At present, Jamaica imports all its fuel, spending between $1.5 and $2 billion a year on energy imports.
However, successful findings from tests on seabed samples from Jamaica’s south coast earlier this year suggest that the region may be suitable for oil development.
based energy firm United Oil & Gas, whichholds an exclusive exploration licence for the 22,400 sq km block in the Walton-Morant basin,identified hydrocarbonsin the samples.
Jamaica’s energy minister, Daryl Vaz, called the findings “very positive” in apress statement.
“They haven’t seen or touched the real deal, but [the results] are still important… I am cautiously optimistic and praying very hard … because of what the impact of any discovery would be,” Vaz stated.
However, environmentalists are less enthusiastic, particularly as the island is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, having beenravaged by one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record last year.
As a Small Island Developing State, Jamaica is highly exposed to climate change impacts, such as more frequent and more intense storms and hurricanes, longer droughts, and sea-level rise,according to the United Nations Development Programme.
For example, in 2024,Hurricane Berylaffected 45,000 farmers, damaged around 8,700 houses, and had an adverse impact on livestock and fisheries, resulting in an estimated economicloss of US$6.5 billion.
Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, the head of the Jamaica Environment Trust,emphasised, “We are on the heels of Hurricane Melissa….
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|---|---|---|
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| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
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| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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