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.
