Cuba offshore oil rig set to arrive in Trinidad

News wires 

A Chinese-built drilling rig that will be used in Cuba's new push into offshore oil exploration is set to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago in the coming days where it will be inspected by officials, the US Coast Guard said on Tuesday according to a report. 

Communist-ruled Cuba hopes the oil project, which is slated to begin next year, can breathe new life into its troubled economy, Reuters reported.
But the venture has aroused opposition in neighboring Florida, a Cuban exile stronghold, where officials worry any drilling for oil poses environmental risks, the news wire said.
In an effort to allay US concerns, Spain's Repsol YPF, the leader of a three-company consortium spearheading the exploration, invited American authorities to inspect the rig before it arrives in Cuba.
The massive Scarabeo 9 rig is expected to pull into Trinidad and Tobago waters around Christmas and officials from the US Coast Guard and Interior Department will conduct the inspection during the first full week of January, Coast Guard Rear Admiral William Baumgartner told reporters.
The inspection will last three to four days, with the rig set to sail for Cuba a week after it is completed. US officials "should be able to inspect everything on the rig that's possible," Baumgartner said.
Trinidad and Tobago is the headquarters of Repsol's Caribbean operations.
Once the rig arrives in Cuba, Baumgartner said, it will be used at a well site north of Havana, some 12 miles (19 kilometres) off the Cuban coast.
Cuba has largely been tight-lipped about its offshore exploration plans.
The project has sparked calls for the United States to cooperate with Havana to avert any possible environmental accident similar to the massive BP oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico last year. More >>