Spanish oil giant Repsol plans to begin drilling a deepwater oil field off Cuba's north shore, raising commercial, political and environmental questions in concerning the close U.S. neighbor. The discovery of up to 20 billion barrels of oil just 60 miles from the Florida coast might seem like good news at a time of high petroleum prices.
But when those resources are controlled by a nation under embargo and in a region beset by a catastrophic spill that caused 11 deaths and the ruination of marine life and economy of the Gulf, the oil discovery promises to trigger the attention of Washington and even strange political alliances.
"[The find] raises a lot of issues regarding safe exploration given the experience we have had in the Gulf," says George Philippidis, co-director of the Energy Business Forum at Florida International University and an expert in inter-American energy cooperation. "I am very concerned the way any exploration will be done that close to our coast, especially in Florida where tourism is one of our top industries."
While environmentalists will almost surely oppose the oil development, opponents of the aging Castro regime have already initiated legislative action. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., has introduced the Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Act, which would sanction companies assisting Cuba in the development of its petroleum industry.
