Oil could return as foreign policy impetus

Manuel Marrero Faz of Cuba’s Ministry of Basic Industries stated this week that Havana would welcome U.S. companies’ help in developing the island’s oil industry, should the embargo (someday) be lifted. “We’re very close to each other. We’re neighbors. Why not do business?” He said.

A previous post described the possible benefit to the United States; the 20 billion barrels of offshore oil that Cuba claims it has is more than four times what Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is estimated to hold. That supply could fully satisfy U.S. demand for three years.

The benefit to Cuba is also great, as Marrero Faz implied with such a statement. Current investors in drilling off Cuba’s coasts include China, Spain, India, Brazil and Russia, to name a few, and most have the difficult and expensive task of transporting large, heavy equipment over great distances. The difficulty of getting key equipment from partners around the world is one of the reasons that Cuba has not been able to drill more than one offshore well. The United States would be the most sensible partner then, since distance is no object.

Still, with oil prices much lower than they were just months ago ($140/barrel in July 2008; around $50/barrel today), there may not be the same push from U.S. businesses to take advantage of such an opportunity.