Is there any oil in Cuban waters in the Gulf of Mexico? Geologists from several countries say yes, but still the first explorations give a result contrary to that statement. Exploiting the black gold beneath the Cuban seabed is still a gamble that nobody won … so far.
Russians are looking to succeed where others have failed. The oil companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft signed two cooperation agreements with their Cuban counterpart Cubapetroleo , better known by its acronym CUPET .
It is not just another protocol signing: it was initialed at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the agreements is a “memorandum of cooperation on the implementation of projects within the territory of the Republic of Cuba. ” Both Rosneft and Zarubezhneft are virtually SOEs, owned by the Russian government and have a long history of relations with Cuba.
In November 2013, Cuban President Raul Castro met in Havana with the president of Rosneft, Igor Sechin. Meanwhile, Zarubezhneft claims to have worked in Cuba, according to the corporate history published on its website. A platform of the latter company conducted exploration work in the Cuban seabed in late 2012.
Petromariel
Moscow has long view and not just looks at the Cuban oil but the site at which it will drill: just opposite the port of Mariel and the Special Area Development attached to this. Even in his favor would have an advantage of $ 3 billion, the debt of the Soviet era reduced by 90%, that Cuba must still pay. That amount will be invested in the island, but on behalf of Russia.
Rosneft plans to build a logistics base at Mariel, indicating how serious the Russian bid for Cuban oil is. CUPET says that there are 20 billion barrels in the Cuban economic area. The U.S. Geological Survey’s denies it: there would be between 4000 and 9 billion. Even with the smaller amount and if it chooses not to export, Cuba would have enough fuel to stop importing oil from Venezuela and be self-sufficient at current levels for the next hundred years.
India has also shown interest in probing the alleged oil reserves off the Cuban coast, but do so with discretion. An Indian diplomat contacted by this reporter commented on the interest of his country for searching sites, but I’d rather not give more details, due to the risks involved in publicizing any operation that could be sanctioned or hindered by the mechanisms of the U.S. blockade .
If Russian oil companies finally find the fossil fuel, relations with Moscow will again have a significant role in the economy of the island. They would return to fuel the country, but this time the oil will not come from across the world … it would be 100 % Cuban.
We fully support Cuba’s efforts toward energy independence; but it is important not to fall captive, as some of us have, in the future oil wealth syndrome.
The agreement recently signed by CUPET and ROSFNET is only a Letter of Intent. The next steps towards a legal binding agreement / contract (PSA) are long and tedious.
Then comes the hard, difficult and onerous task of contracting a sixth-generation semi-submersible with the capability and technology to drill a deep (1,500 + m) and ultra-deep (3,000 +m) water exploratory well (≈ $ 150mm).
Do not misunderstand me , but ROSFNET has no experience in deep ultra – deepwater exploration as Repsol, who a few years ago broke a record at that time as it drilled the Buckskin prospect in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in waters of 2,109 meters and a total depth of 8.962 meters to the reservoir .
Much work remains to be done; but regrettably the results of Yamagua 1X, Jaguey 1X , San Antonio 1X and Catoche 1X were not positive to say the least .
We also want to comment on our hopes that an oil discovery in Cuba could last for “a hundred years”, as mentioned by the author of this article. The life of an oil well is limited. At the time of its discovery 1982-1985 the “North Slope” field in Alaska produced 1.9 million barrels of oil per day! Today, thirty years later, it only produces 513,000 barrels per day, and on a continuous decline. We cannot forget the culture and awareness around energy conservation that exists in Cuba today and in the future use of renewable energy, ethanol and biomass.
Jorge Piñon, Universidad de Texas – Austin