• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 05 / 19 / 2011

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Norway signed a memorandum of understanding to provide know-how in offshore drilling. The oil agreement, signed by Deputy Foreign Ministers Ingrid Fiskaa and Ramón Ripoll Díaz and representatives of the Cuban Basic Industry Ministry and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), provides for training of personnel for oil exploration and production, mainly at sea.

“It’s Norwegian cooperation where we share our experience with petroleum resource management, an exchange between experts about technology that’s used for offshore exploration and drilling,” Fiskaa said during a press conference in Havana.

There have already been two Cuban-Norwegian offshore expert seminars in Havana, she said, and a third one is scheduled for next week.

The agreement is separate from Statoil ASA’s offshore business in Cuba, Fiskaa said. The Norwegian state company is a junior partner in a consortium led by Spain’s Repsol YPF that is expected to begin exploratory drilling by October. Statoil is also about to begin exploratory drilling in Bahamian waters near the maritime border with Cuba.

NORAD’s “Oil for Development” program aims at assisting developing countries in their efforts “to manage petroleum resources in a way that generates economic growth and promotes the welfare of the whole population in an environmentally sustainable way,” according to NORAD’s Website. The program, providing support with resource, revenue and environmental management, is implemented by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, The Directorate for Nature Management, and Petrad, an international program for petroleum management and administration.

During her visit in Havana through Thursday, Fiskaa is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, Church officials, and disaster response officials. She also signed an agreement for Norway to provide assistance in the development of aquaculture in Cuba.

Finally, she talked about Norwegian-Cuban cooperation in a three-way agreement with Haiti for the reconstruction of Haiti’s healthcare system. Norway has been funding a Cuban-led effort in Haiti since before the 2010 earthquake.

Source: www.cubastandard.com/2011/05/17/norway-provides-offshore-oil-training/