CUBA SETS DEADLINE FOP LICENSE BIDS
Cuba has set an Aug. 1 deadline for bidding in its first international exploration licensing round.
Data presentation meetings originally scheduled for last November will now take place in February (OGJ, June 29, 1992, p. 29).
Simon Petroleum Technology (SPT), Llandudno, North Wales, is preparing technical data packages under contract to Comercial Cupet SA, Cuba's national oil company.
SPT will give presentations on the petroleum geology of Cuba and the legal and fiscal framework at the Delta Bow Valley Hotel, Calgary, Feb. 10 and the New Connaught Rooms, London, Feb. 17. Full bidding procedures will be announced at the presentations.
Cuba produces about 20,000 b/d of oil, SPT said, while average consumption is 200,000 b/d. Twenty-five fields have been found, but only five are producing. The largest, Varadero, holds reserves estimated at more than 1.1 billion bbl.
It is vital for Cuba's economy that oil production increases as quickly as possible, SPT said. Havana is focusing its attention on the potential for further discoveries and improved production from existing fields.
Many of Cuba's 1,600 wells are old or veri shallow. They are concentrated in a few producing areas that represent less than 5% of the country's prospective area, SPT said. No offshore drilling has taken place because of Cupet's limited budgets and reliance on inadequate Soviet technology.
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