Cuba Plans Offshore Wells Banned in US Waters

The US and Cuba partitioned the waters of Florida Straits years ago, and the US never expected that Cuba would hurry to develop the underlying oil and gas fields. Cuba might not have immediate need for the energy supplies, but other nations do. So the Cuban government negotiated a partnership with emerging economic giants China and India to drill and extract oil and gas from the large underwater fields. The fields would supply the US market for less than a year, but the deal still irks the US government, with some industry officials lobbying for the nation end its longstanding ban on coastal drilling. China has been securing oil contracts all over the globe, and some economists suggest the increased interest contributes to the rising costs of gasoline. Pressure mounts among nations – especially close neighbors whose oil and gas fields span territorial boundaries – over a finite resource that fuels economies. Ironically, the scramble only hastens energy extraction and stalls conservation – moving up the day when alternative energy sources will be needed all too soon. – YaleGlobal