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Cuba, Bahamas Push Ahead With Offshore Oil Plans

Plans in Cuba and neighboring  Bahamas to develop offshore oil fields may open big new oil  frontiers at the doorstep of the United States, but the Cuban  project has sparked opposition in next-door Florida reflecting  the usual antagonistic U.S.-Cuba politics.

Some Florida political leaders have asked U.S. President  Barack Obama to find a way to stop Cuba’s drilling, but so far  the White House has stayed out of the issue. Cuban oil  exploration plans continue on the communist-led island, where  significant fresh drilling is expected to begin early in 2011.

Maritime boundaries with Cuba and Bahamas are about 50  miles (80 km) distance from South Florida, meaning they can  drill closer to the state than U.S. operators. In the Bahamas, the Bahamas Petroleum Corp has leased more  than 2 million acres offshore and has a joint venture in place  with Norway’s Statoil, but this project so far has received  little mention in Florida.

Posted in World News

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