Potential Cuban Operations for US Oil-spill Containment Companies

Several US companies are asking the Obama administration for permission to respond to potential oil spills in Cuban waters, a top offshore drilling regulator said on Wednesday to Dow Jones Newswire. They are hoping to overcome embargo restrictions that currently limit their ability to do so. 

The companies' requests coincide with a growing concern among oil-industry experts who say that the US embargo on Cuba could cripple the ability of spill-containment companies to respond to potential spills that start in Cuban waters but then move to US shores.

 

Speaking at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich said several companies have asked the US Commerce Department for licences that would allow them to use subsea well-containment systems and other types of equipment to respond to spills in Cuban waters.

 

Earlier in the week, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to do more to prevent Cuba's oil-drilling plans.

 

Many environmental and oil-industry experts have taken a different approach and have urged the administration to give broad flexibility to US companies that are equipped to respond to spills. They assume Cuba will pursue oil exploration, regardless of whether the US disapproves. Cuba's offshore drilling plans get under way in coming months when Spanish company Repsol YPF SA starts to conduct exploratory drilling off the country's northern coast. Repsol is transporting a Chinese-built rig to be used for the exploration work. The company has agreed to allow US officials to inspect the rig before it enters Cuban waters and to comply with US drilling standards.