Yahoo! December 20, 2001.
Castro: U.S. energy companies welcome
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA, 20 (AP) - President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) says he would
allow U.S. companies to prospect for petroleum off the coast of Cuba - even
though U.S. law would probably forbid it.
"We would not deprive Americans of the possibility of investing in
these resources,'' Castro said late Wednesday in a three-hour live television
appearance on the government's nightly "Round Table'' program.
"If tomorrow anyone wants to participate in the search, we would
provide them with the same possibilities of those already looking,'' he added.
The long-standing U.S. trade embargo against Cuba would seem to bar American
companies from prospecting for petroleum off the island's coast.
Cuba, long dependent on petroleum imports, has begun searching for crude oil
in recent years. Foreign partners and investment would provide cash-poor Cuba
with the assistance it needs to undertake wide-scale off-coast prospecting
Castro's idea came up while he was discussing Cuba's first direct commercial
purchases of American food. He said Cuba was paying $40 million - including
transportation costs - to purchase the grains, chicken and other products to be
delivered through the end of February.
Representatives of American business and some U.S. officials hope the
shipments will lead to increased trade with Cuba. Many anti-Castro exiles oppose
the food sales, saying they will erode U.S. trade sanctions they say are
necessary to punish Castro's one-party government.
Castro, who has long sought an end to the sanctions, said the food will
replace reserves depleted since early November, when Hurricane Michelle barreled
across the island, destroying tens of thousands of homes and severely damaging
crops.
The U.S. government offered humanitarian aid to Cuba after the hurricane,
but Havana said it would rather make direct commercial purchases of American
food to restock reserves.
Nearly all trade between the two nations is banned under the U.S. embargo.
Congress, however, passed a law last year that permitted the sale of American
food to Cuba.
Positive production tests: Two new successes for PEBERCAN in Cuba
Wednesday December 19, 3:15 pm Eastern Time. Press Release.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--PEBERCAN is pleased to announce that the SEBORUCO 2RE and
CANASI 4 wells drilled in the Republic of Cuba resulted in two new successes.
SEBORUCO 2RE is a re entry and deepening of the SEBORUCO 2 deviated hole.
Drilling was completed at the end of June 2001. The total length of SEBORUCO 2RE
is now 4,018 meters, 815 meters of which penetrated two successive hydrocarbon
pools.
As a result of the production tests carried out on these wells, the average
production of SEBORUCO 2RE is presently 3,500 barrels per day.
Drilling of CANASI 4 was completed on September 14, 2001. The total length
of this well is 3,760 meters, 1,590 meters of which penetrated three successive
hydrocarbon pools.
After testing, CANASI 4 production was determined to be 2,500 barrels per
day.
Taking these two new stabilized productions into account, Block 7 is now
producing over 11,000 barrels per day, or approximately 5,300 barrels per day as
PEBERCAN's net share.
Contact:
PEBERCAN Inc. Cedric Sirven Vice-President, Finance Phone: 1
(514) 286-5200 Fax: 1 (514) 286-5177 Email: info@pebercan.com
Obituaries in the News / Jose Fajardo
WEST NEW YORK, N.J. 20 (AP) - Jose Fajardo, a Cuban flutist who was one of
the most influential bandleaders in Latin music, died Dec. 11 of an aneurysm. He
was 82.
The Cuban native had emigrated from Cuba in 1961, when he refused a request
from the Cuban government to continue a musical tour to other communist
countries.
During his lengthy career, Fajardo recorded more than 40 albums and
performed around the world. He was credited with expanding the audience for
charanga, a Cuban musical style that backs a singer with flute, violins, piano,
bass and percussion.
Fajardo started his first group, Fajardo y sus Estrellas, in the 1940s. He
later led three bands by the same name.
After moving to the United States, he founded bands in New York and Miami
and began performing in new style called pachanga, featuring a slightly more
assertive rhythm.
Fajardo was featured on "Cuban Masters: Los Originales,'' an album of
performances by leading Cuban musicians that was released last month.
Castro asks Cubans to be optimistic
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer
HAVANA (AP) - President Fidel Castro told Cubans Wednesday there would be
enough food for the nation in the coming year and asked citizens to trust his
leadership amid concerns over the long-term economic effects of Hurricane
Michelle.
"We need your confidence that things are getting better,'' Castro said
in a lengthy nighttime address on state television. "We have food
guaranteed for the coming year.''
Castro spoke more than three hours on the government's nightly "Round
Table'' program. It was dedicated to the arrival last weekend of the first
direct commercial shipments of American food to Cuba in nearly four decades.
While the American shipments will help Cuba's food reserves, Castro said
they represented just 4 percent of annual food imports. Castro said Havana was
paying $40 million for the American delivery.
The broadcast gave Cubans the most complete information yet about the
American shipments and what they meant for the nation's food supply.
Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Ill., has contracted to sell Cuba about
$14 million in grain. The first shipment of 26,400 tons of American corn,
arrived Sunday. ADM will make seven additional grain shipments over the next two
months. Five-hundred tons of frozen chicken parts from the United states, valued
at $300,000, also docked Sunday.
Anti-Castro Cuban exiles in the United States object to the direct sale of
American food, claiming it could erode the trade embargo imposed to punish Cuba
for its one-party political system.
Representatives of American agribusiness and some U.S. officials hope the
shipments will lead to increased trade with the island.
Castro said the food will replace reserves depleted since early November,
when Hurricane Michelle barreled across the island, destroying tens of thousands
of homes and severely damaging crops.
The U.S. government offered humanitarian aid to Cuba after the hurricane,
but Havana said it would rather make direct commercial purchases of American
food to restock reserves.
Nearly all trade between the two nations is banned under the U.S. embargo.
Congress, however, passed a law last year that permitted the sale of American
food to Cuba. |