CANADIAN Firm Plans to Export Cuban Oil

A Canadian firm, Sherritt International, is planning to export Cuban oil following a rise in output and a drop in domestic Cuban heavy oil demands, according to Jane Bussey of the Miami Sun Herald. The company currently produces about 68,000 b/d in Cuba and has been operating joint-ventures with the Cuban government for over ten years.

Sherritt International's exports could create problems for the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, though a company official commented that "We have no intention of selling it into a situation that would affect the embargo." However, critics say that the Cuban crude would be refined in the Caribbean and would probably make its way into the United States eventually. Also, U.S. Representative Diaz-Balart of Florida stated that "Sherritt is on the 'short list' of companies that will have very serious civil as well as criminal legal problems in Cuba when the Cuban people recover their sovereignty."
BsrNews


Hearings Start for ECA's Offshore Gas Plan

A regulatory hearing about EnCana Corporation's (NYSE:ECA) Deep Panuke gas project in Nova Scotia started March 5, 2007, according to CBC News. Federal regulators must determine whether to allow the CA$700 million project to proceed. ECA had put the project on hold in 2003, because it was not economical to continue with it at the time. Now, ECA has reduced its production numbers for the project and is planning to export 300,000 MMcf/d of natural gas, down 25% from original plans.

If ECA's Deep Panuke project does start operating, it could "kickstart" Nova Scotia's offshore industry, CBC News stated. ECA wants to have the authority to determine how to get gas from the Deep Panuke project to the shore, and wants to be able to leave pipes and other equipment under the water when the project is finished. No environmental benefit would result from removing the equipment, and costs of doing so would be high, the company stated.

BsrNews

No comments: