Say you saw it here first.
Posted on 04/12/2006 5:49:13 AM PDT by thackney
We've noted in this space repeatedly that our competitors must just look at us and shake their heads in disbelief that we won't tap our own rich reserves of natural resources, most notably with coal, in ANWR and in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Well, now we can go one better: how do you feel about countries taping that supply while we cannot? What if it's a Communist country, living under a dictatorship? Unfortunately you don't have to look very far. In fact, only 90 miles from Key West sits Fidel Castro's Cuba. Castro, worried about continuing to live off of Venezuelan President Chavez' largess, has decided to start his own deep water exploration. As Rep. John Peterson (R-PA) -- author of a bill that would open the OCS to common-sense and environmentally-friendly regulation -- writes in the Miami Herald:
"[T]o help get at vital and abundant supplies of offshore energy, [Cuba] has chosen tracts of real estate in the Gulf of Mexico as close as 45 miles from Florida. Forty-five miles is just a bit farther than the distance between the University of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Imagine what Castro is thinking as we spend our time quarreling over whether we should produce American energy 100, 150 or 250 miles from the Florida coast while he makes arrangements to set up shop hundreds of miles closer. He must love that we've allowed emotion to win out over reason, facts to be dwarfed by fear and our nation's energy policy to be driven by unreasonable environmental concerns."
You should click here to weigh in on the Interior Department's long-range plan for the OCS, which is inadequate. Deadline is c.o.b. today. But you should also let your representatives know while they're home these two weeks what is happening to your energy prices. Please ask why they support a policy that forbids drilling in the OCS by us but not by Fidel Castro.
What a brilliant move. While the environwhackos won't let us drill there--Castro can drill in the same location, take that very same oil and sell it right back to us!!
What a great way to '"pick-our-pockets".
BRILLIANT!
Havana
AP
MSN
Infosearch:
Jose F. Sánchez
Bureau Chief
Cuba
Research Dept.
La Nueva Cuba
April 12, 2006
Communist Cuba is deepening its relationship with oil-producing Venezuela, forming a joint venture to refurbish an idled Soviet-era oil refinery in central Cuba, the two countries said Tuesday.
President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez were at the ceremony Monday night where officials signed the contract between the two nations' state oil companies, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said. Venezuela's oil company issued a similar statement.
Cuba will hold 51 percent of the new joint venture, to be called PDV-CUPET SA, with Venezuela holding the remaining 49 percent.
The agreement fulfills a letter of intent signed last year by Castro's government and the administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez under their own vision for a regional trade agreement, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas. Cuba and Venezuela, so far its only members, hope to expand it to include other countries.
Neither Granma nor the Venezuelan announcement gave financial details. But last year, an executive of the state firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said the project would cost between US$60 million (euro50 million) and $100 million (euro83 million) .
Alejandro Granado, PDVSA's director of refining, said at the time the rehabilitated Soviet-era refinery could open as early as June 2007 and would initially process 65,000 barrels of crude daily.
During a news conference Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of a short-lived coup attempt against his older brother, President Chavez, Venezuelan Ambassador Adan Chavez said that the two countries soon will form three other joint ventures: a publishing company and firms to produce music recordings and films.
Adan Chavez said the joint ventures are "agreements for cooperation in our America. No one is trying to take advantage of the other."
The Cuba-Venezuela pact is an alternative to the Washington-backed Free Trade Area for the Americas, which Castro and Hugo Chavez say is a U.S. effort to "annex" Latin America.
The new petroleum joint venture will rehabilitate an idled Soviet-era refinery in the central city of Cienfuegos on Cuba's southern coast to refine, store and distribute crude oil.
The announcement comes as trade rapidly increases between the two political allies.
Cuba-Venezuela trade is projected to reach more than $3.5 billion (euro2.9 billion) this year, Adan Chavez told The Associated Press here during an exclusive interview here last week.
That's up 40 percent from the $2.5 billion (euro2 billion) in trade in 2005, the ambassador told the AP on Friday. He quoted slightly lower trade estimates during the Tuesday news conference.
The bulk of trade comes from the 90,000 barrels of crude petroleum that oil-producing Venezuela sends to the communist-run island daily.
http://www.lanuevacuba.com/nuevacuba/notic-06-04-1201.htm
I think Castro should drill away. Right into the left's face.
I am sorry. You will not see a single rig in the Atlantic in your lifetime.
With a VHS video camera? With duct tape?
What has been Jeb Bush's position on drilling on the ocean near Florida?
Say you saw it here first.
45 miles?
He's against it.
ping
You are not correct.
Ten oil and gas lease sales were held in the Atlantic between 1976 and 1983. Forty-nine exploratory wells were drilled; only five wells discovered hydrocarbons. These five wells were offshore New Jersey and were abandoned as non-commercial. A summary document of the eight wells drilled in the North Atlantic is currently available. Reports on each of the eight wells drilled in the North Atlantic Planning Area are available.
The State of Virginia does not specifically state whether their offshore area should either be included or excluded, but identified issues that should be considered in an EIS. They stated that in Virginia, most energy use is in coastal areas. Some of these areas have experienced natural gas supply constraints in the recent past, due to distance from source areas and inadequate pipeline infrastructure. Development of natural gas resources near these markets would reduce supply disruptions and transportation costs, and reduce the risk of transportationrelated accidental discharges. These factors should be considered in making decisions on the future of the Atlantic OCS. Virginia Department of Historic Resources is concerned that oil and gas activities off Virginia’s coast may affect historic sites and would like the MMS to work closely with them should those activities take place. The States of Delaware and North Carolina continue to support the moratorium. The States of Connecticut and New Jersey and a total of 14 members of the New Jersey congressional delegation expressed their support that the area should remain under congressional moratoria and presidential withdrawal. However, these two states are no longer adjacent to this planning area. Numerous environmental groups opposed any consideration of leasing in areas currently withdrawn, none specifically mentioned the Mid-Atlantic. About 15 businesses/organizations supported opening the Atlantic OCS to consideration, only one mentioned the Mid-Atlantic, without more specificity. Four companies expressed interest in this area. One company commented that the “withdrawal of the OCS areas off the...Atlantic...until 2012 continues to exclude promising OCS lands from exploration and development activities.”
BTTT.
But...but...Katherine Harris can't win though. Let's stick a shiv in her back and let Nelson get re-elected virtually unopposed.
"I think you are missing the point.
WE, The USA, could be drilling, allowing US companies and US workers to profit from the oil."
You missed my point: it is better that Cuba does this than not do this. Did you hear Rush today? He loves the idea.
Sounds like international waters. Time to invest. What's the ticker symbol - FDLOIL?
Castroil
I would like to respond to you, but I have idea what your statement means. Tell me again what it is I'm selling?
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