Jamaica Faces Oil Drilling Dilemma: Balancing Economic Gains with Green Commitments
Sarah Johnson
Seafloor samples off Jamaica’s southern coast have revealed signs of crude oil, reigniting debate over whether the island should become an oil producer as it faces severe climate impacts. The nation imports all its fuel at a cost of $1.5-2 billion annually, while activists warn drilling could devastate protected areas and contradict its green pledges.
Jamaica is closer than ever to exploratory oil drilling. Seafloor samples taken earlier this year off the southern coast identified hydrocarbons, indicating the presence of crude oil underground.
The island imports all its fuel, costing about $1.5-2 billion annually depending on global oil prices. This is a persistent burden on an economy that earned $4.3 billion from tourism—its largest revenue source—in 2024.
UK-based United Oil & Gas holds an exclusive exploration license for the 22,400-square-kilometer Walton-Morant block off the southern coast. Surface oil seeps have been recorded multiple times, but no commercial extraction has ever taken place.
Energy Minister Daryl Vaz called the results “very positive.” “They haven’t seen or touched the real thing yet, but the results are still significant,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic and praying a lot… because the impact of any discovery will be huge.”
If oil is confirmed in its waters, Jamaica would join Guyana and Suriname as the region’s newest fossil fuel producers. About half of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are racing to find oil, following Brazil’s deepwater discoveries in the Atlantic since the 2000s.
The debate comes as Jamaica still recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and Hurricane Melissa, one of the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record, which struck last October. The US-Israel conflict with Iran has added further economic pressure.
Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, head of the Jamaica Environment Trust, expressed astonishment that oil drilling is being considered while Jamaica suffers the worst impacts of the climate crisis. “We just went through Hurricane Melissa,” she said. “We have a $12 billion damage bill and we’re cheerfully talking about fossil fuel exploration. This is a huge contradiction.”
In 2017, Jamaica ratified the Paris Agreement. In 2024, the government called on other countries to negotiate a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. Last year, it committed to ambitious targets for conserving and restoring mangroves and seagrass beds.
The Walton-Morant block lies near some of Jamaica’s most productive fishing grounds. Activists fear that an oil spill’s impact on protected areas like Portland Bight and the Black River wetlands would be catastrophic. Jamaica is also a signatory to the Escazú Agreement, which requires transparent public discussion on development decisions.
Nicole Leotaud, director of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, said frontline communities often cannot fully participate in discussions because the information is complex and scientific. She highlighted the tension between calls for energy transition and the need for energy security and economic development.
Courtney Lindsay, a Caribbean specialist at ODI Global, argued that Jamaica cannot ignore the prospect of oil reserves. “Talking about the climate crisis is a First World problem,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of saying ‘we don’t want to contribute to the climate change problem’ because we’re talking about daily bread-and-butter issues.”
Currently, renewable sources like solar, hydro, and wind account for only about 13% of electricity generation. Jamaica has set an ambitious target of generating 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, but that requires significant investment. According to Lindsay, no policymaker in Jamaica is considering giving up the opportunity from oil revenue. “Debt reduction comes with high social costs. Education and health care are in poor shape. There is still so much to do to raise living standards.”
