Volkhonsky Boris. May 31, 2011 15:23 Moscow Time. A recent discovery of a vast oil field off Cuban shores has given rise to a wave of controversial reactions from the US. The capacity of the deep water oil field is estimated as being between 5 and 20 billion barrels, which in any case will turn Cuba from an oil importing country into an oil exporter.One part of the American establishment reacted rather nervously, and the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen even initiated a bill aimed at deterring oil-and-gas exploration off Cuba’s coast.">Volkhonsky Boris. May 31, 2011 15:23 Moscow Time. A recent discovery of a vast oil field off Cuban shores has given rise to a wave of controversial reactions from the US. The capacity of the deep water oil field is estimated as being between 5 and 20 billion barrels, which in any case will turn Cuba from an oil importing country into an oil exporter.One part of the American establishment reacted rather nervously, and the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen even initiated a bill aimed at deterring oil-and-gas exploration off Cuba’s coast.">

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Volkhonsky Boris. May 31, 2011 15:23 Moscow Time. A recent discovery of a vast oil field off Cuban shores has given rise to a wave of controversial reactions from the US. The capacity of the deep water oil field is estimated as being between 5 and 20 billion barrels, which in any case will turn Cuba from an oil importing country into an oil exporter.

One part of the American establishment reacted rather nervously, and the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen even initiated a bill aimed at deterring oil-and-gas exploration off Cuba’s coast.

There are several matters for concern. One is purely ecological. The memories of last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are still fresh. And the prospective Cuban oil field is located at a distance of some 100 kilometers from the Florida coast.

Also, some legislators point out that if and when Cuba starts exploration, it will give a huge momentum to the Cuban economy which would make it more difficult to end what Washington calls a “tyranny”.

But in fact, the reasons for concern are more practical. Fifty years of US embargo on any transactions of American companies with communist Cuba have given little effect. Despite all economic difficulties Cuba is facing, the leadership seems to be stable and firmly remains in command. And the sanctions in fact backfired at the US itself.

The company which will start exploratory drilling around September this year, is Spanish Repsol which is going to start exploration in partnership with Norway’s Statoil and a unit of India’s ONGC. The rig used in drilling will be Chinese-built Scarabeo 9. And that means that the American companies will be bypassed in the exploration by their direct competitors from Europe, China and India – all that and only due to the oldest existing embargo in the world, which is by now obviously outdated.

Therefore, many experts point out that instead of creating new obstacles to drilling off Cuba’s coast, the US is much more likely to lift the embargo. And this is not because there has been any significant change in Cuba’s policies, but rather vice versa.

It is true that during recent months Cuba has taken some steps towards liberalization – both economically and politically. One of the most symbolic measures was the decision by the Cuban government to build four new luxury golf courses which also implies the right for foreigners to buy property in their vicinity. This decision was taken after several decades when golf in Cuba was regarded as a bourgeois sport.

But, of course, all the steps taken by the Cuban government would never be regarded as sufficient if were it not for the discovery of a vast oil field. And that makes the whole story completely different.

Yes, new drillings close to the US coast can cause ecological concern. But combating a possible disaster is much easier when the ban on supplies to Cuba from American companies is lifted.

More so, it shows that in fact, ideological differences do not really matter when it comes to oil supplies. There was no question of lifting sanctions while Cuba mattered little from the US point of view. Now that there are real prospects for it to turn into an oil-exporting country, sanctions would be harmful for the US economic interest much more than for Cuba.

And this reminds one of another situation, also in relations between the US and a Latin American country, Venezuela. Apart from Fidel Castro, it is hard to imagine another Latin American leader who would be as hated by Washington as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But despite all the rifts between Washington and Caracas, oils supplies are going on uninterrupted.

As senior policy adviser at the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council John Kavulich has clearly put it, the US could treat Cuban oil in the same way it treats oil from Venezuela: “We don't like them but we like their product and we are going to buy it”.

And when it comes to buying and selling, does it matter much whether Cuba remains a communist country or not?

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/31/51071843.html


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