Cuba,US in oil talks

Cuba,US in oil talks
October 22, 2015 International

HAVANA. – Delegations from Cuba and the United States mulled how to
ensure safe offshore oil extraction during a two-day symposium concluded
here on Tuesday.

Themed "Safe Seas, Clean Seas", the forum, attended by representatives
of oil and service companies, research institutes, universities and
regulatory agencies from more than 10 countries, discussed
environmental, scientific, technological and legal issues related to oil
extraction at the island's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Regulations and technologies for the prevention and response to oil
spills, as well as the procedures and technologies to ensure safe
offshore oil operations, especially the operations in the Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean Sea, were also touched.

"We have several states sharing a common area in the Gulf of Mexico and
the Caribbean Sea, hence it is imperative for us to use the same
standards of protection, monitoring, mitigation and preparedness for
possible accidents or oil spills in public waters," said Raul Ruben
Costa, head of the Section of Natural Disaster Reduction and Technology
of the General Staff of Cuban Civil Defence.

Costa said Cuba had a capacity to deal with a spill up to level two,
representing around 200 tonnes of oil.

He stressed that no country in the world, including the United States,
can face alone a disaster of level three, which will require
international co-operation.

Cuba meets half of its domestic energy needs with domestic oil
production and the rest is satisfied by 10 000 oil barrels provided
daily by its main political and economic ally Venezuela. – Xinhua.

Source: Cuba,US in oil talks | The Herald -
http://www.herald.co.zw/cubaus-in-oil-talks/