• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 03 / 22 / 2011

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Congresswoman Briefed On Cuba's Oil Plans. by Neki Mohan. Monday, March 21, 2011. MIAMI -- In the waters between the U.S. and Cuba, preparations are under way for the Scarabeo 9, an offshore deepwater oil-drilling rig.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, drilling could begin as early as the fall.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen got a briefing on the plans Monday.

"What impact will that have on Florida waters? What impact will it have on all of the United States?" Ros-Lehtinen said.

Cuban engineers are, according to reports, getting set to drill for oil off the island's north coast, close to Florida and only 50 miles from Key West.

If Cuba drills for oil, some wonder whether it would affect Florida's beaches, ecosystem and tourism. Scientists said possibly, but they need to do more research out in the water.

"The potential is there that materials and perhaps, in the case of an oil spill, can be trapped and transported toward South Florida," said University of Miami Professor Villy Kourafalou, who studies ocean currents.

Kourafalou consulted with Ros-Lehtinen after the incident at Deepwater Horizon, which affected Florida's shores.

Some members of the U.S. Congress believe the U.S. should enter a pact with Cuba and Mexico to enforce safety standards and monitor the industry.

Ros-Lehtinen does not believe that would do any good.

"Cuba is an enemy of the United States, and to help the Cuban military -- that would be the ones in charge -- or to help any of these other countries engage in oil drilling off the Cuban coast in order to ward off dangers to our coast, I think is a wrong policy."

Source: www.local10.com/news/27268564/detail.html