Castro moving for forward: China's CNPC in talks for possible Cuba oil block

Cuba Standard

By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar
SAN FERNANDO, Trinidad and Tobago, July 13 (Reuters) - State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is discussing the possible leasing of one or more offshore exploration blocks in Cuba's Gulf of Mexico acreage, a Cuban state oil company official said on Wednesday.
"They are discussing that. They have to look at the data and see if that's what they want, and that's up to the company," Guillermo Hernandez Perez, exploration director of Cuba's state oil company CUPET, told Reuters.
U.S. officials have voiced concern about communist-ruled Cuba's oil drilling plans south of the Florida coast, which have touched off opposition from local lawmakers who say this threatens the state's environment.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and CNPC President Jiang Jiemen signed energy accords in Havana last month during a visit to the island but the text of the agreements were not disclosed.
Hernandez's comments, made after he gave a presentation to the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Chamber, indicated CNPC's interests included Cuba's Gulf of Mexico area, where Spanish oil giant Repsol YPF (REP.MC: Quote) is due to start exploration later this year using a Chinese-built rig.  Read more...