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Oil Drilling Opens Up New Possibilities
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Written By: Patricia Grogg/ipsnews
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Posted Date: 2/17/2012 8:47:25 AM
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The search for oil in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico
waters, launched by the Spanish firm Repsol, has triggered speculation
about future prospects for Cuba and the possibility of this country one
day making the transition from importer to exporter of crude.
Moreover,
given its strategic importance for both the United States and Cuba,
some analysts believe that energy offers a potential area for
cooperation that could eventually help pave the way to the normalisation
of relations between the two countries.
For the moment, the Cuban authorities and oil industry personnel are
remaining discreetly silent on the subject. CUPET, the state-owned oil
company, has limited itself to officially confirming the arrival in the
country on Jan. 19 of the Scarabeo 9 oil rig for "the resumption in the
coming days of deepwater drilling for oil exploration."
Drilling operations presumably began in late January. According to
CUPET, the goal is to continue testing to determine the potential for
oil and gas production in Cuba’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the
Gulf of Mexico. The results of the drilling will contribute to defining
that potential.
After opening up its economy to foreign investment in 1991, Cuba divided
the EEZ, which covers an area of 112,000 sq km, into 59 oil and gas
exploration blocks. On Jan. 18, Rafael Tenreiro, director of exploration
and production at CUPET, reiterated a previous estimate of a potential
20,000 million barrels in the area.
At the launching of the book "Perforación de pozos petroleros marinos"
("Offshore Oil Well Drilling") by Rolando Fernández, supervisor of the
Gulf of Mexico operations group, Tenreiro stated that it was "possible"
that Cuba could become an oil exporter.
"We have to prepare the country for this good news," he added, stressing
the need for the production of technology and participation in the
entire process.
In 2011, more than 20 offshore exploration blocks had already been
leased to large foreign energy companies, including, in addition to
Repsol, StatoilHydro of Norway, ONGC Videsh of India, PETRONAS of
Malaysia, PetroVietnam, Gazprom of Russia, Sonangol of Angola the
Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Reflecting on the potential ramifications should Repsol’s exploratory
drilling prove successful, university professor Fernando Martirena told
IPS that large-scale development of the Cuban oil industry would
obviously provide a boost to the government programmes currently
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