The Bahamas Ministry of Environment and Oil Exploration has suspended consideration of all applications for oil exploration and drilling off its shores.
In a statement the ministry said the decision seeks to protect and maintain an unpolluted marine environment considering recent unfortunate events involving oil exploration.
The Ministry of Environment said it will review existing licences and ensure it has a stringent set of environmental rules in place before it considers applications.
The move by the Bahamas, where a well has not been drilled for 20 years, follows the US issue of a six-month moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion at a BP well caused the world's worst offshore oil accident.
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