Cuba Wants to Drill for Oil 60 Miles Off U.S. Coast
By Bluey Posted in Energy | Featured Stories — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Later this year, Communist Cuba could be drilling for oil just 60 miles from Key West, Fla. USA Today reports on Cuba's pursuit of oil in the waters off the U.S. coast, including its desire to attract American oil companies to do the work. Meanwhile, we continue to twiddle our thumbs and make no progress on off-shore drilling.
Republicans had six years to pass legislation that had the support of the White House. Although it won approval in the House last year, it died in the Senate. Now, the Cuban plan is attracting the attention of Capitol Hill. According to USA Today, Sen. Bill Nelson (D.-Fla.) wants to "deny U.S. visas to executives employed by oil companies involved in the Cuban program." Nelson would also like to renegotiate a 1977 treaty that defines the boundary in the waters between the United States and Cuba. Yes, folks, he's a Democrat.
At the same time, conservative Rep. Jeff Flake (R.-Ariz.) mistakenly thinks we should ease the U.S. embargo. Flake has offered legislation that would allow U.S. companies make a play for the drilling rights.
Perhaps most alarming about the Cuban plan is the involvement of China, which is already working with the Cuban government on existing oil deals. Venezuela dictator Hugo Chavez also sees Cuba as a potential business partner.
What can we do about this? First of all, conservatives should make a renewed (although probably hopeless) push for off-shore oil drilling legislation in Congress. Meanwhile, let's make it known to members of Congress that we don't want a Cuban-Chinese tandem drilling for oil just 60 miles from the U.S. coast.
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Cuba Wants to Drill for Oil 60 Miles Off U.S. Coast 8 Comments (0 topical, 8 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Rather than let American companies, with the most advanced, environmentally friendly drilling equipment drill offshore, we'll arrange it so third world countries(and I include China in the sense of drilling technology) do it, just 10 miles further out. We'll never have a sensible energy policy as long as the Democrats have any say in the matter. They are only in favor of technologies that don't currently exist for large scale use (hydrogen fuel cells), or technology with insufficient energy density (MW/sq mi) to be effective.
And I'll add this: the solution to our reliance on hostile foreign oil exporters consists of BOTH increasing domestic energy supply AND reducing domestic oil/gas demand.
The Right tends to focus on increasing supply, while the Left tends to focus on reducing demand. But these are not mutually exclusive.
To reduce domestic demand for oil and gas:
1. Drive Hybrid Cars
2. Build Nuclear Power Plants
3. Build a Real National Train System
To increase domestic supply of oil and gas:
1. Drill in Alaska
2. Drill in the Gulf of Mexico
3. Build new refineries
Net result? We'll be able to tell Saudia Arabia, Venezuela, and Russia to take their oil and shove it.
** The only guy you know who has a gun rack on a Prius **
one time around with Amtrak is more than enough.
The net result of anything, short of banning petrol powered automobiles and carbon based energy use, will never give us the ability to tell SA & friends to shove it.
____
Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
The combination of a fully hybrid fleet and widespread nuke power will VASTLY reduce our consumption of oil & nat gas, not just by 10 or 20%.
And my projection of energy independence doesn't even account for an important item left out of my earlier post: solar power. Solar is very practical in a large swathe of the southern US. i know it can be done in the real world. My sister & her husband live in New Mexico and their solar panels generate enough power for all their needs -- with some energy left over that they sell to the local power company. They have recouped their substantial investment and are now profitting.
Nor does my projection of energy independence account for the likely advent of affordable plug-in hybrids that will need NO gas for the short trips that constitute the majority of daily travel (i.e., less than 100 miles a day).
We DO have the ability to become independent of hostile/unreliable petroleum exporters in the foreseeable future.
Rather than pretend that more drilling is the complete answer, I intend to keep pressing for new nuke plants -- and yes, my family and I will be buying several more hybrids in the next few years.
I don't want to be a homer, but isn't Cuba 90 miles from Key West? That would make the oil 'closer' to cuba than it is to the US. Additionally, I thought territorial waters extend 60 miles from the mean water mark. I'm not 100% on all my facts, but isn't this much ado about nothing?
does not care for map lines and borders.
the oil is under water out there as well.
We are foolishly letting the cubans/chinese get there first. They will likely get a lot of our oil in doing it.
Thanks, all you demohacks!
And the democrats are too naive to let us go get it.
They would rather us chase technologies years away, if ever, before being practical rather than use proven and safe technologies to get the oil we are blessed with in our nation.