Natural Gas

International politics and energy politics will probably become a lot more intertwined in the new year, especially after the latest report from Cupet0–Cuba’s state-owned energy company.

Cupet has claimed that reserves in the Deep Cuban Basin may be as high as 20 billion barrels of oil–twice what had been originally reported.  The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the the fields off Cuba’s Gulf Coast may contain up to 9 billion barrels of oil and 21 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Cupet officials have said they are basing their estimates on comparisons of known oil reserves in the Bay of Campeche.

The Cubans have defended their higher estimates by saying they have more up-to-date information that the USGS and therefore, their figures are closer to the real figures.

Whatever the numbers, one thing is for sure–Cuba is about to become a hot-key item for the world’s energy industry. Spain’s Repsol YPF is scheduled to start E&P operations in the North Cuba basin by mid-2009 with other operators expected to start after that–with the exception of any U.S. companies which are prohibited from commercial activities with Cuba because of a Cold War law that has not been repealed.

Stay tuned. More to come. Cuba’s growing energy industry–it only produces 60,000 barrels a day now–is about to become big news, especially with a new president to take office. The story is just beginning.

–John A. Sullivan, News Editor, Oil and Gas Investor, www.OilandGasInvestor.com, jsullivan@hartenergy.com

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