Cuban Oil Exploration

Many hope to strike it rich with Cuba's oil
By Gary Marx. The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2006 - Cubanet

I got the link to this article from the Energy Crisis Now blog. Thanks!

Excerpts from the article:

1. An offshore basin has non-U.S. companies excited. Cuba has become the latest country drawn into the frenzied hunt for oil.
2. Last year the U.S. Geological Survey estimated Cuba's northern offshore basin contained 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
3. "Cuba is not Saudi Arabia or Venezuela, but it could become a major oil and gas player in the region"
4. Already, oil companies from Canada, Spain, Norway, Malaysia and India have signed agreements with Cuba's state-owned company, Cupet, for explorations.
5. Bringing a deep-water oil well on line would take many more years and cost $1 billion or more.
6. Venezuela's state-run oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela, and Brazilian and Chinese companies also are interested
7. American oil corporations are barred from participating because of U.S. trade sanctions against the island.
8. In February, executives from ExxonMobil Corp. and other U.S. corporations met with Cuban officials; but the meeting was disrupted under pressure from the Treasury Department
9. Energy has long been an Achilles' heel for Cuba...To ease the crisis...Sherritt International Corp. and a second Canadian company have helped the island's oil production
10. Cuba gets about 98,000 barrels of high-quality discounted crude a day from Venezuela.

Personalities mentioned: Jorge Pinon, former president of Amoco Oil; R.S. Butola, a top Indian oil executive; Manuel Marrero, senior petroleum adviser at Cuba's Ministry of Basic Industry; U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.)

Full article here

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