Venezuela looking for oil offshore Cuba, 100 miles from the US

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Venezuela looking for oil offshore Cuba, 100 miles from the US

Venezuelan government oil company, PDVSA begins this week hydrocarbons
exploration in six blocks offshore Cuba, 100 miles from the United
States coast, with prospects of finding abundant light crude.
PDVSA oil rig begins this week to work in Cuba
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Seven international corporations are interested in exploring the
promising northern basin of Cuba where Spain's Repsol-YPF back in 2004
found high quality oil although not in commercial volumes.

"The project between PDVSA, CVP and CUPET (Cuban Petroleum) includes six
blocks covering approximately 10.000 square kilometers, in which we
expect to confirm the presence of light crude deposits in volumes with
high production potential", reported PVDSA in a release.

Repsol-YPF, India's ONGD Videsh; Norway's Norsk Hydro; Malaysia's
Petroliam Nasional Berhad and Canadian Sherritt International have shown
interest in 59 blocks of Cuba's exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of
Mexico.

Vietnam's Petrovietnam was the last company to join the offshore
exploration boom in Cuba's north basin, which the United States
Geological Survey estimates holds reserves equivalent to 4.6 billion
barrels of oil, with a maximum potential of 9.3 billion.

The opening of the northern basin, just 100 miles from the US coast has
US oil corporations restless since they are banned from operating given
the standing sanctions imposed by Washington on Cuba since the sixties.

Sanctions have turned Venezuela's Hugo Chavez into Cuba's main trading
partner with daily shipments of 98.000 barrels of oil, at preferential
prices, which the Fidel Castro regime pays with the services of 26.600
doctors who are working for the Venezuelan government social and health
programs.

Bilateral trade reached 2.6 billion US dollars last year, six times
higher than in 2001.

Besides PDVSA is collaborating with several energy projects in Cuba such
as the renovation of the Cienfuegos refinery which can process 65.000
bpd and the building of fuel storage facilities in Matanzas province.

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