It has been called a catastrophe of biblical proportions as it slowly, inexorably, and menacingly advances on the U.S. states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. According to President Barack Obama, it is a "massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster."

The BP oil spill is quite possibly the worst environmental disaster in American history, and by a very wide margin. Its effects promise to be felt literally decades into the future, and it is unlikely that the true parameters will be known for quite some time.

A number of Caribbean countries could possibly be impacted by the spread of the oil as it is picked up by the Loop Current, a fast stream of water that circulates from the Caribbean Sea into the Gulf of Mexico and under the tip of Florida. When it passes Florida’s southernmost edge and heads up the U.S. east coast, it is possible that a change in wind patterns could push it towards the western island-nations, such as the Bahamas and Jamaica.

CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington was quoted as saying that the tourism-dependent countries in the 15-nation group were concerned about the aftereffects of the oil spill. Discussions surrounding it were expected to be on the agenda during the meetings this week in Barbados between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and regional foreign ministers.

The spill has brought the matter of energy resources, and how they are acquired, to the fore in an unprecedented way. Oil is, by far, the most important source of energy in the current global industrial society. Without it, operating such a society, as currently constituted, would be impossible. There is no combination of so-called alternate sources of energy that could completely replace oil – its not even close.

The Deepwater Horizon spill also highlights the fact that as easier-accessed sources of oil are used up, more dangerous, inaccessible places will have to be drilled in order to keep up with the growing world thirst for the precious resource.

What it means that more such accidents, at previously unheard of depths, will likely occur and they will similarly be hard to control, given the extremely difficult working environment. The number of tragic mishaps promise to grow, simply because the volume of such projects continue to escalate.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the vast majority of projected boosts to the country’s oil production will come from Gulf of Mexico deepwater fields. These fields currently take up about 70 percent of all oil extraction in that area, while the other 30 percent are in more shallow depths. In total, offshore oil production provides nearly one-third of U.S. oil production, and the percentage continues to grow.

So, what relevance does all this have to the Caribbean region? Consider, for a minute, what it would be like to have that huge oil slick advancing on the Federation’s beaches. It would be absolutely ruinous for a country that depends so much on tourism.

In the Gulf of Mexico region, local hotels and motels are seeing visitor levels drop by as much as 90 percent. How would St. Kitts and Nevis, or any Caribbean nation for that matter, survive such an onslaught? Not well, I suspect.

As the search for oil gets more and more desperate, it’s not far-fetched to speculate that large underwater deposits might be found close by. Why not? Trinidad isn’t that far distant, and they’re producing an estimated 163,000 barrels of oil per day.

It would be an interesting internal debate were such a find to happen. Given the BP disaster, would any politician want to go on record as approving an extensive drilling exercise off the coast? On the other hand, the profits from a successful project would have the potential of significantly aiding with the current fiscal deficits facing the Federation.

Would VAT even be necessary if an underwater ‘gusher’ were found in the vicinity? All interesting conjectures, to be sure.

What isn’t debatable is that ‘conventional’ oil fields, most which have been harvested for decades, are in serious decline. So-called ‘super-giant’ fields like Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar are a dying breed. According to published sources, back in 2004 as much as 7 million gallons of water were pumped into the huge oil well on a daily basis in order to bring the remaining oil to the top. It is beyond doubt that the noted number has increased significantly since then. The Saudis are also deep into offshore oil development, something they would hardly do if more available fields were accessible through land-based drilling.

Mexico’s Canterell oil field, once one of the most fruitful in the world with an estimated production of 2.1 million barrels per day, is now down to 536,617, according to a January 2010 measurement. Much of the drug and crime-related issues that country faces has to do with the huge amounts of disappeared revenues lost along with the progressively lower levels of available oil.

So, with existing oil fields being drained of their precious fruit, what’s going to happen when supply can no longer meet demand? In particular, the economies of India and China, though slowed by the global financial slowdown, are still growing and thirsty.

To my mind, it will mean potentially more devastating catastrophes in deep underwater locations, perhaps one or more that will be even dwarf the current one. This will happen, despite the risks, as the world simply cannot function without oil. Essential items like plastics, paints, and even automobile tires are heavily dependent upon oil for their manufacture. So are too many other products, and machine-based processes, to mention.

Hopefully, though, the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico will not be repeated deep in the heart of the Caribbean. I can’t imagine feeling the same dread for the future that residents of the Gulf-bordering states must be feeling now.