Exploring for oil

HAVANA, Dec. 17, 2012 –Progreso Semanal/Radio Progreso Alternativa (RPA)– The semisubmersible platform Songa Mercur arrived in the northern coast of Villa Clara, in the center of the island, to drill wells, according to the state-owned company Cubapetróleo.

Songa Mercur will drill well L-01X for the Russian company Zarubezhneft, which leased that site on speculation. The plan is to drill the deepest well so far investigated: 6.5 kilometers deep (4.7 miles).

The platform belongs to the Norwegian company Songa Offshore and was inspected by the Cuban oil authorities, as well as by ModuSpec, an international firm, to confirm that fewer than 10 percent of its components are made in the United States. Washington’s policy of blockade against Cuba, imposed half a century ago, demands this condition.

Last month, the platform Scarabeo-9 withdrew after making several failed attempts to detect usable oil in Cuba’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The daily cost of Scarabeo-9 was half a million dollars.

The persistence in prospection and perforation has real reason, because geological research estimates that Cuban reserves could fill 9 billion barrels of oil. Other assessments indicate higher amounts.