Cuba welcomes US investment in oil exploration
Cuba welcomes US investment in inland and offshore oil exploration and exploitation, the Cuban Basic Industry
Ministry said. Juan Fleites, a senior official of the ministry, made this offer when more than 400 US entrepreneurs
gathered attending the first Cuban-US trade fair. He said cooperation opportunity is open to whoever is interested in
exploring and exploiting oil in Cuba.
Fleites said Cuba has 49 oil plates in the Mexican sea area which remain untapped by venture capital. Cuba has
granted foreign capital the right to participate in oil exploration and exploitation since 1990. Oil companies from
France, Canada and Spain are hitherto its major partners in this field.
Currently, Cuba's oil production mainly comes from oil fields on land, with an output of 80,000 bpd used in
electricity generation. The first offshore oil rig, jointly funded by Cuba and Spain, is believed to start production
soon.
Fleites pointed out that except national defence, health and education, other economic sectors in the country will
also open to foreign investment.
Since Cuba and the United States restored trade relations in 2001, trade between the two countries has been confined
to food. Cuba has reiterated that it welcomes US investment in sectors like oil, tourism, telecommunications,
electricity, food production and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Cuba also hopes to import machinery, agricultural facilities, transpiration equipment, fertilizer and
industrial raw materials from the United States.