Us Experts Size Up Cuba's Untapped Oil Wealth

Havana (AFP) - US experts were briefed by Cuban authorities for the first time on technical details of a possible partnership to tap Cuba's deep-sea oil wealth, in another sign of warming ties between the two nations.The United States and Cuba in December made a surprise announcement that they would end five decades of Cold War-era bad blood, and move toward normal relations. But Pedro Sorzano, the head of state oil monopoly Cubapetroleo (Cupet) acknowledged that "so far, we have not found any (US) companies interested."Speaking at a geological sciences conference in Havana attended by Americans from a variety of private companies, he said interest may be muted for now because oil prices remain on the slide globally and because the United States has not yet ended its economic sanctions.US President Barack Obama has expressed interest in lifting them, but needs congressional approval for some measures, which could take time.Based on past studies, Cuba believes it has billions of barrels of oil below the deep seabed in its waters in the Gulf of Mexico.Accessing it however, has not proven easy.Several exploration partners have walked away empty handed, while Venezuela's PDVSA and Angola's Sonangol are still working in Cuba's Gulf waters.Cuba now produces about half of its own crude, but it is a heavy type mainly used to run power plants.

 

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