BOEMRE monitors Cuban offshore

    April 15, 2011
    US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich quietly included Cuba as he emphasized working with other countries in developing better offshore oil and gas regulations.Working with Cuba’s regime poses a challenge since the United States does not recognize it. Repsol YPF SA, which is leading a consortium planning to drill its first well off the island nation’s coast, is another matter. The Spanish multinational reached out to BOEMRE some months ago to discuss its plans to drill off Cuba, Bromwich said told reporters on Apr. 12. Talks are continuing, he added.“The places to be drilled are close to Florida’s coast, and in the loop current, so we will be watching them closely,” noted US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who also participated in the briefing at the Interior Department's headquarters.Petroleum ministers in Mexico and Brazil told him that the Apr. 20, 2010, Macondo well accident and crude oil spill shocked the world, and that they were very interested in implementing more effective regulations, he continued.“Most companies operating in the US deepwater operate globally, so the new standards we are requiring can be implemented worldwide,” Salazar said. That apparently could be the case in Cuba.
    US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Director Michael R. Bromwich quietly included Cuba as he emphasized working with other countries in developing better offshore oil and gas regulations.Working with Cuba’s regime poses a challenge since the United States does not recognize it. Repsol YPF SA, which is leading a consortium planning to drill its first well off the island nation’s coast, is another matter. The Spanish multinational reached out to BOEMRE some months ago to discuss its plans to drill off Cuba, Bromwich said told reporters on Apr. 12. Talks are continuing, he added.“The places to be drilled are close to Florida’s coast, and in the loop current, so we will be watching them closely,” noted US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who also participated in the briefing at the Interior Department's headquarters.Petroleum ministers in Mexico and Brazil told him that the Apr. 20, 2010, Macondo well accident and crude oil spill shocked the world, and that they were very interested in implementing more effective regulations, he continued.“Most companies operating in the US deepwater operate globally, so the new standards we are requiring can be implemented worldwide,” Salazar said. That apparently could be the case in Cuba.
    About the Author

    Nick Snow

    NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020. 

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