Virtual New York.
Monday, 16 July 2001 9:53 (ET)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July16 (UPI) -- Cuba is planning to begin
exploration for oil in its waters in the Gulf of Mexico in August, it was
reported Monday.
The Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, which has a bureau in Havana, said the
effort will be carried out by a partnership between Cuba and the Spanish oil
company Repsol YPF.
The plan comes while officials in Florida and Washington fret over the
potential for environmental damage from oil drilling off the coast of Florida.
"The risk of environmental damage from oil exploration and production
is outweighed by the goal of the government of Cuba to be energy independent, or
at least not as dependent as they are today," said John Kavulich, president
of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
About 4,000 square miles of the 44,000 square miles Cuba controls off its
northwest coast are to be explored. Repsol YPF will pay for the exploration and
drilling while Cuba and its oil monopoly, Cupet, provide only the location.
Cupet said Cuba has quadrupled its domestic oil production over the last
decade with wells on its north-central coast in the province of Matanzas. Those
wells provide about 70 percent of the oil used to produce Cuba's electricity.
The officials said six of its seven power plants will be refitted to use
the crude oil. They predict 90 percent of the island's electricity will be
generated using domestic crude at that point.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, $6 billion in annual subsidies and
cut-rate oil prices ended. Blackouts were frequent, and many industries were
forced to slow production.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights
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