Efe
Friday, January 05, 2007
Cuba fulfilled its plan to produce 3.9 million tons of oil and natural
gas in 2006, and it continues exploration activities at 30 wells
operated by foreign firms and state-owned Cubapetroleo, officials in
Havana say.
That production is equivalent to 69.6 million barrels of crude and
represents a nearly sevenfold increase over the figure for 1990.
It is also sufficient to meet half of Cuba's demand for oil and
In addition, it means savings of $260 million for the communist-ruled
island, according to estimates by Vice President Carlos Lage and
published in the latest edition of weekly newspapar Opciones.
State television reported Thursday that in 2006, specialized brigades
worked at 30 oil wells, six of them currently operated by Cubapetroleo,
or Cupet.
A spokesman for the state oil firm said that it planned to drill 12 new
wells in 2007, guaranteeing the country an annual crude production level
of 2.2 million tons.
The oil exploration efforts on the island began 10 years ago and
intensified in 2006 with the inclusion of new foreign companies
operating in Cuban territorial waters within the Gulf of Mexico.
Cuba produces some 80,000 barrels each day of high-sulfur heavy crude,
which it primarily uses to generate electricity, according to Cupet data.
Meanwhile, the country covers most of its demand for oil with the
roughly 100,000 daily barrels it receives from leftist-led Venezuela at
preferential prices, a product it pays for by furnishing medical,
educational and sports services in keeping with a 2002 accord.
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