As Cuba Plans Offshore Wells, Some Want U.S. to Follow Suit

NYTIMES ^ | 05/09/06 | By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

[Pikamax]

As Cuba Plans Offshore Wells, Some Want U.S. to Follow Suit By MICHAEL JANOFSKY

WASHINGTON, May 8 — In 1977, the United States and Cuba signed a treaty that evenly divided the Florida Straits to preserve each country's economic rights. They included access to vast underwater oil and gas fields on both sides of the line.

Now, with energy costs soaring, plans are under way to drill this year — but all on the Cuban side.

With only modest energy needs and no ability of its own to drill, Cuba has negotiated lease agreements with China and other energy-hungry countries to extract resources for themselves and for Cuba.

Cuba's drilling plans have been in place for several years, but now that China, India and others are involved and fuel prices are unusually high, a growing number of lawmakers and business leaders in the United States are starting to complain. They argue that the United States' decades-old ban against drilling in coastal waters is driving up domestic energy costs and, in this case, is giving two of America's chief economic competitors access to energy at the United States' expense.

[concerned about politics]

As Cuba Plans Offshore Wells, Some Want U.S. to Follow Suit

Well duh! Of course we'd like to drill for our own oil. We're not going to behead ourselves for Allah!
If we don't, Castro is going to drill and suck it right out from under us!

[Steely Tom]

I love this sentence:

With only modest energy needs and no ability of its own to drill, Cuba has negotiated lease agreements with China and other energy-hungry countries to extract resources for themselves and for Cuba.

Like the United States isn't energy-hungry.

And why is it that Cuba's energy needs are "modest?" Could it have anything to do with Cuba's economy, which has been a basket case for almost 50 years. Oh yeah, except for the period in which it was propped up by the mighty USSR. What ever happened to that little deal, anyway?

[bbenton]

Since the environment is all important and humans are a virus on our earth mother, I say that only the USA is capable of drilling cleanly enough to prevent an epic pollution problem. After all isn't China the most polluting country on Earth. So unless Greenpeace can convince everyone on the entire planet except the ethnic Albanians (good guys) to commit suicide to stop global warming then we should be the ones to drill and screw Cuba and China. Two more things, we need to start getting serious about our energy/foreign policy and no one could secure the militarily if we wanted it.

[demlosers]

In 1977, the United States and Cuba signed a treaty that evenly divided the Florida Straits to preserve each country's economic rights. They included access to vast underwater oil and gas fields on both sides of the line.

Carter... again.

[I got the rope]

I'm wondering when our Bill Nelson loving FReepers will jump in on this thread.

Sorry I've been absent...I've been working lots. It's unbelievable how the media has ignored this issue, taxes, etc... and has basically given Nelson a free ride.

[Paleo Conservative]

Senator "Don Quixote" Kennedy will oppose drilling off the coast of Martha's Vinyard.

[conservative in nyc]

Senator "Don Quixote" Kennedy will oppose WIND TURBINES miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Oil rigs off of Chappaquiddick would drive the swimmer ballistic.

[Tzimisce]

No, no, no! We all need to drive hybrids, smell our own farts and vote for big government Greens...

Only that will solve our energy crisis and fix our relations with Cuba...

[mirkwood]