US companies might partner with Cuba to tap the country's deep-sea oil wealth

US companies might partner with Cuba to tap the country's deep-sea oil
wealth
AFP
MAY 7, 2015, 7:28 AM 12


Havana (AFP) - US experts were briefed by Cuban authorities for the
first time on technical details of a possible partnership to tap Cuba's
deep-sea oil wealth, in another sign of warming ties between the two
nations.

The United States and Cuba in December made a surprise announcement that
they would end five decades of Cold War-era bad blood, and move toward
normal relations.

But Pedro Sorzano, the head of state oil monopoly Cubapetroleo (Cupet)
acknowledged that "so far, we have not found any (US) companies interested."

Speaking at a geological sciences conference in Havana attended by
Americans from a variety of private companies, he said interest may be
muted for now because oil prices remain on the slide globally and
because the United States has not yet ended its economic sanctions.

US President Barack Obama has expressed interest in lifting them, but
needs congressional approval for some measures, which could take time.

Based on past studies, Cuba believes it has billions of barrels of oil
below the deep seabed in its waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

Accessing it however, has not proven easy.

Several exploration partners have walked away empty handed, while
Venezuela's PDVSA and Angola's Sonangol are still working in Cuba's Gulf
waters.

Cuba now produces about half of its own crude, but it is a heavy type
mainly used to run power plants. The rest of the country's oil comes
from key political and economic ally Venezuela, at favorable rates.

Energy independence, aside from potentially turning Cuba from a
cash-strapped developing nation into a more stable oil exporter, could
also help project its current regime years into the future.

The only one-party communist regime in the Americas, Cuba's economy has
long been plagued by its energy dependence.

Havana used to depend on the former Eastern Bloc for cut-rate oil, and
plunged into economic chaos and blackouts when it was cut off after 1989.

But now, "the question is not whether Cuba does or does not have oil in
the Gulf (of Mexico) waters," said Cupet's prospecting chief Rafael
Tenrreyro.

"What we are deciding is when we are going to access it. And it is going
to take time and a good deal of effort," he added, citing the ultra-deep
sea and challenging geological conditions.

Source: US experts size up Cuba's untapped oil wealth - Business Insider
-
http://uk.businessinsider.com/afp-us-experts-size-up-cubas-untapped-oil-wealth-2015-5?r=US