Cuba explains offshore drilling plan

Cuba explains offshore drilling plan
Florida politicians concerned about safety
By Desiree Connor, Reuters
May 13, 2011

Cuba offered public assurances Thursday about the safety of its plans to
develop offshore oil fields in the face of U.S. concerns over the
communist-ruled island's ability to handle an oil spill.

With Cuba set to begin large-scale oil exploration in its Gulf of Mexico
waters later this year, some political leaders in Florida have urged
President Barack Obama to find a way to halt the plan, saying they are
worried about the possible environmental impact on the state from any
accident.

Cuban officials sought to highlight their regulatory precautions during
an oil safety conference held in Trinidad and Tobago, offering an
unusually public discussion outside of Cuba of its oil project.

"For us, the major goal is to prevent these major accidents from
happening," said Fidel Ilizastigui Perez, an official of Cuba's Office
for Environment and Nuclear Safety Regulation.

"The companies must show that they meet all international standards," he
told the conference in Port of Spain.

Perez said Cuban officials had studied and already implemented oil
industry safety practices from Britain and incorporated others from the
United States.

"We need to think how to prevent these accidents from happening and
safety culture will lead the way," he said.

U.S. concerns about Cuba's ability to ensure its offshore drilling will
be safe increased after last year's BP PlC oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. Lax U.S. government oversight was blamed in the disaster.

Complicating any possible Cuban response to an oil spill is a nearly
fifty-year-old trade embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba.
American oil companies have some of the world's leading equipment and
technologies to deal with a spill, but are restricted from doing
business with the island.

Cuba, located just 90 miles from Florida, is hoping the oil project will
breathe new life into its sputtering economy.

But the plan has drawn criticism from Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat
Key, who has presented a bill that would authorize punitive action
against companies that drill off Cuba's shores.

Jorge Pinon, a professor at Florida International University who
participated in a panel with Cuban officials at the Trinidad conference,
said the two countries needed to find ways to coordinate a disaster
response even if they do not have diplomatic relations.

"Not only does the U.S. government need to bring Cuba to the table to
talk about this, but there is a need for a general license to be given
to Cuba so that in the case of national emergency, Cuba would have
access to all the resources that are available," he said.

Cuba's oil project is being led by Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, which
is expected to bring a Chinese-built drilling rig to Cuba later this year.

Repsol, in partnership with Norway's Statoil and India's ONGC, plans to
drill at least one well off Cuba, then pass the rig over to Malaysia's
state-owned oil company Petronas.

The oil industry is watching the Repsol project closely. If it finds
significant reserves, more companies are likely to want to explore in
Cuban waters.

Dan Whittle, a senior attorney at the U.S.-based Environmental Defense
Fund, said the Cuban government appeared to be taking the safety issue
seriously because of the potential economic benefit of the project.

"Cuba has a lot at stake," he said. "They're doing the best they can
with limited resources and with obstacles to access those resources."

"I think we're seeing the beginning of a more international dialogue on
what the Cubans are planning," he added.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/fl-bc-cuba-oil-20110513,0,4120791.story