Just a few days ago, a large Scarabeo 9 offshore drilling unit, the most powerful rig in the world, arrived off the shores of Havana. Recent seismic data has confirmed potential oil wells near Cuba’s shores. The rig will hold 200 people, and has the capacity to manage two different drilling operations at the same time. It will operate 16 miles off the coast of Cuba, about 80 miles south of Key West, driving down into 5,300 feet of water to a depth of 20,000 feet below the sea floor.
As another Florida attraction might put it, it’s a small world, and when it comes to drilling we’re all in it together. The rig is Norwegian-designed, Chinese-built, Italian-owned, and flagged in the Bahamas. The Spanish energy company Repsol signed the first contract with the Cuban government to begin exploration. Repsol has joint partnership with companies from Norway and India. Additional drilling lease agreements exist between Cuba and Venezuela, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Angola; negotiations with China are ongoing.
Since most rigs begin drilling soon after they arrive, US government officials believe the Cuban platform will begin running “shortly.’’ There is no reason to be paranoid about Repsol’s plans; drilling happens all the time. A spill might not even harm Florida, as currents and barrier reefs serve as good protection. But when drilling happens in the ocean between neighbors, direct talks are generally the norm. In 1980, for example, the United States and Mexico negotiated an agreement for oil exploration and spill response known as the Mexus Plan.
Cuba raises unique concerns because we continue to refuse normal diplomatic relations with the country still run by the Castro brothers. So today’s hearing will highlight lawmakers and scientists’ best efforts to work around these prohibitions. Federal, state, and local agencies are taking this seriously. Because of prohibitions on direct talks with Cuba, the United States has met in five-party discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Mexico under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization.
