• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 11 / 12 / 2010

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Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA will “soon” being exploratory drilling in Cuban waters of the Gulf of Mexico, President Hugo Chávez said during a bilateral meeting in Havana earlier this week.

He didn’t elaborate, but said the oil company’s 3-d seismic data is what triggered the decision to go ahead.

PdVSA announced last year it believed to have detected significant amounts of oil in one of its four offshore blocks off the western tip of Cuba. According to PdVSA, the reserves are connected to the Cantarell oil field in Mexican waters.

A consortium led by Spain’s Repsol SA will bring an Italian-owned drilling platform to Cuban waters early next year. Observers believe the Scarabeo-9 platform, while still there, could be used by other oil companies.

Source: /www.cubastandard.com/2010/11/11/chavez-pdvsa-to-begin-offshore-drilling-soon/