US - Cuba Energy Summit discusses GoM

US - Cuba Energy Summit discusses GoM

Offshore staff

(Cuba & GoM ) - In the two years since oil reservoirs were discovered
off Cuba's coast, Canadian, Chinese, Indian, and Norwegian companies
have lined up to explore the potentially lucrative Caribbean waters.

US oil exploration in Cuban waters -- along with most US. trade -- is
prohibited under a 45-year-old US embargo.

From February 2-4, in Mexico City, American energy executives are
meeting with their Cuban counterparts in the first private-sector oil
summit between the two countries.

The three-day meeting is sponsored by the US-Cuba Trade Association,
along with Valero Energy Corp., as well as the Louisiana Department of
Economic Development, and the Texas Port of Corpus Christi, among others.

In an introductory letter for the summit, Fidel Rivero Prieto,
CubaPetroleo's president, wrote:

"In the last few years, Cuba has undertaken a significant expansion in
the development of its energy sector. This has involved the investment
of $1.7 billion on the part of the government of Cuba and its foreign
partners from Canada, Europe, and Latin America.

"The exploration of Cuba's Exclusive Zone in the GoM constitutes one
example of the new opportunities for investment in the energy sector.
Our activities with the Sherritt International Corp. continue to develop
and expand in this area."

02/03/06
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