Venezuela to explore for oil in Cuba

Mercosur
Monday, 15 May

Venezuela to explore for oil in Cuba

Venezuela will explore and eventually exploit hydrocarbons in Cuba
according to a release published this week in Havana’s official
newspaper Gramma.

The agreement involves the two countries government owned oil companies,
PDVSA and Cupet and was signed by Cuba’s Basic Industry Minister Yadira
Garcia and the Venezuelan oil company Exploration and Production manager
Luis F. Vierma.

According to the release the agreement is in the framework of the
cooperation between both countries contemplated in the Bolivarian
Alternative for the Americas, ALBA, an initiative from Venezuelan
president Hugo Chavez to counter the United States sponsored Free Trade
Association of the Americas.

PDVSA which has a regional Caribbean office in Havana supplies Cuba with
98.000 barrels per day of crude and is working with Cupet in modernizing
and upgrading the obsolete Soviet built Cienfuegos refinery and an oil
sea terminal.

Both companies are also involved in the construction of a lubricant
bottling plant and a deposit with a 600.000 barrels storage capacity for
residual fuels.

PDVSA will then be joining other international corporations
participating in the exploration and exploitation of oil in the north of
Cuba. On land and offshore to the south operates Sherrit from Canada and
Chinese companies, while in the Gulf of Mexico exclusion zone, Canada’s
Sherrit, Petrobras, Repsol-YPF among others.

Gramma also announced that next May 23 oil corporations from India and
Norway will sign an agreement in Havana joining Repsol-YPF operations in
the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=7894