Tue, August 07, 2012
HAVANA, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's newly found offshore oilfieldwas deemed inviable for exploration due to restricted access, saidthe country's state oil company on Monday.
Cubapetroleo (Cupet) said it "an active petroleum system" in theGulf of Mexico, but the geology of the site made it impossible toexploit.
The rocks are very compact and prevent the ability to deliversignificant quantities of oil and gas, said Cupet. "So the wellcannot be qualified as a commercial discovery."
It is Cuba's second failed attempt to find commercially viableoilfield since the Italian-owned Scarabeo 9 oil rig was transportedto the area in January.
In May, Spanish company Repsol reported that its offshoredrilling north of Havana had failed and later announced it wouldstop exploration work in Cuban waters.
Cuba's 112,000-square-km territorial waters in the Gulf ofMexico are divided into 59 blocks, 22 of which have been contractedfor exploratory drilling by companies from various countries.
Some foreign geologists estimate that the island country hasoffshore reserves of 5 billion to 9 billion barrels of crude oil,while Cuban experts believe there could be as much as 20 billionbarrels.
But so far, all attempts to find a profitable oilfield in thegulf have failed.
Since 2007, Cuba produces about 4 million tons of crude andderivatives annually, enough to meet half of domestic demand.Venezuela supplies the remaining demand of about 100,000 barrelsper day. Enditem
