How One Family Secretly Bought 37% of Jamaica | Who Owns the Caribbean? Ep. 1

One man. One company registered not in Jamaica, but in St. Lucia. And through it, control over 37% of Jamaica's mineral rights approved by four consecutive government ministers, covered by a newspaper that never disclosed the family connection. This is the story of Bobby Stewart, son of the late Butch Stewart founder of Sandals Resorts and the Jamaica Observer and how Geophysics Jamaica Limited quietly accumulated over 70 mineral exploration licences covering 4,000 square kilometres of Jamaican territory. We follow the full chain: from BHP's first exploration in the 1990s, through Karub Copper (co-founded by a former Barrick Gold executive, run by a former Freeport-McMoRan executive), to a $210,000 transaction that eventually unlocked a $75 million Freeport commitment and a 400,000-hectare Barrick earn-in. And then there is the oil. Beneath the Walton Basin, south of Jamaica, there may be 7 billion barrels worth an estimated $742 billion. The exclusive licence is held by United Oil & Gas: 9 employees, a share price of less than a third of a penny, auditor warnings about its survival, and zero wells drilled. The minister responsible was photographed aboard their vessel a 53-year-old ship flagged in Vanuatu with blank ownership and management fields. Jamaica's royalty on all of this? 5%. This documentary is built entirely from public records: corporate filings, audited accounts, parliamentary statements, licence registrations, vessel tracking data, and published media. No criminal wrongdoing is alleged. The issue is transparency, public accountability, and whether Jamaica's natural resources are being managed in the public interest. All sources listed at the bottom of this description. SERIES: WHO OWNS THE CARIBBEAN? This is Episode 1 of Caribbean Journey's investigative documentary series examining who controls the natural resources, infrastructure, and economic future of the Caribbean and whether those answers serve the people of the region. Episode 2 coming soon. SUBSCRIBE & JOIN THE COMMUNITY Subscribe to Caribbean Journey for serious, data-driven Caribbean documentary content:    / @caribbeanjourney1   We cover Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad, and the wider Caribbean with verified data and full source transparency. No crime. No tourism. No hype. Just the real story. SOURCES & PUBLIC RECORD REFERENCES • United Oil & Gas UK Companies House filing Company No. 09624969 • United Oil & Gas audited accounts (capitalized Jamaica assets, cash position, auditor going-concern note) • Jamaica Hansard Minister Daryl Vaz parliamentary statement on United Oil investment • Jamaica Hansard Minister Philip Paulwell statements on Repsol negotiation and Tullow selection • Karub Copper corporate registration and directorship records • Geophysics Jamaica Limited St. Lucia corporate registry • Jamaica Mining Act royalty rate provisions • Vessel tracking database RV Guyer (IMO reference, Vanuatu flag, blank owner/manager) • Marine Traffic / VesselFinder Palarkis Adira ownership and April 2026 sale record • Norway Government Pension Fund petroleum tax framework (78% effective rate) • Botswana Debswana diamond partnership structure • Papua New Guinea Mining Act carried interest provisions • Jamaica Observer published coverage of United Oil & Gas (April 2026) • Jamaica Observer coverage of Bobby Stewart mineral licence activity • ATL Group / Sandals corporate history (public record) • Barrick Gold Jamaica earn-in agreement announcement (2024) • Freeport-McMoRan Jamaica joint venture commitment ($75 million) Note: This documentary does not allege criminal wrongdoing. All claims are drawn from public documents, official statements, and published media. Caribbean Journey is an independent channel. We receive no funding from any party named in this documentary. #Jamaica #JamaicaNews #Caribbean #CaribgbeanNews #JamaicaMining #JamaicaOil #BobbyStewart #ButchStewart #GeophysicsJamaica #UnitedOilAndGas #WaltonBasin #WhoOwnsTheCaribbean #CaribgbeanJourney #JamaicaEconomy #NaturalResources #ResourceGovernance #JamaicaDiaspora #CaribgbeanDiaspora #Barrick #Freeport