• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 06 / 09 / 2011

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Cuban specialists who are going to participate in the drilling of deep-water exploratory wells in Cuban waters in the Gulf of Mexico recently participated in courses on safety and environment protection as part of preparations for such activities.

A total of 120 Cubans including executives, officials and technicians of enterprises involved in the oil industry participated in three seminars on the topic taught by Norwegian experts.

Manuel Marrero, chief oil and gas specialist of the Basic Industry Ministry, told ACN the several-day training is vital to undertake the deep- and ultra-deep-water drillings scheduled to begin in a few months.

Current international regulations for this kind of operations are very rigorous in an effort to protect the environment and avoid accidents such as the one that recently occurred in the British Pretroleum platform.

Rafael Tenreyro Perez, with the Union Cubapetroleo enterprise, stated that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment is also working on actions to minimize the environmental impact of the drilling.

Tenreyro Perez pointed out that despite the limitations brought about by the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade to the island, the Cuban government supports researches and investments that enable the rational use of resources to protect the environment.

According to data by Cuba’s National Statistics Office, the first oil activities carried out in the island took place in 1881 with the discovery of a naphtha field in the central region of the country, but it was not until little after 1960 that a comprehensive oil exploration program was first implemented.

(ACN)