Cuba strikes black gold....a good thing or a bad thing?

[RadioRaheem84]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2011/09/04/cuba-chasing-5-billion-barrels-of-undiscovered-oil-u-s-intervenes/

Italian rigs, Spanish Oil Companies, US advisors, the whole thing seems like Cuba is need of this oil. Environmental groups are already trying to find out how Cuba will handle the situation.

Your thoughts? Does this mean Cuba will depend less on the Venezuelans?

[StoneFrog]

incoming invasion of Cuba?

[Rusty Shackleford]

that much oil could keep Cuba from experiencing very bad situations in the future.

[redhotpoker]

The two worst things for proletarian democracy are war and shortages, so yes its very good.

[RedSonRising]

It will either help Cuba become more self-sufficient, prosperous, and independent, or infect a delicate state of political reform in which international scavenging and corruption severely destroys the gains of the Cuban Revolution.

[Rafiq]

I don't know. I think the U.S. administration will feel obligated to invade Cuba. Think about it, Billions of dollars worth of Oil at the tip of the empire.

[thefinalmarch]

More market reforms, some foreign investment. Although I think any military intervention in Cuba is unlikely.

[redhotpoker]

The main reason for Cuba's market reforms to begin with was the governments need for hard currency to purchase natural resources for Cuba's industries. The oil discovery partially takes care of both the shortage of oil and the need for marketable currency.

[Die Neue Zeit]

They call it "black gold" for a reason: historically resource-based states, particular petroleum states, have had difficulty escaping their reliance on their resource niche.

[Misanthrope]

Hopefully the funds are used for the betterment of Cuba and helping the population, but in the world we are currently living in, doubt it.

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

Interesting, I am curious as to how this will play out. Potentially this could be a very good thing for Cuba but then again perhaps not; hard to say.

[eric922]

It really depends on how they decide to use it, I mean Venezuela has used its oil to provide for the people, and help maintain economic Independence, but honestly I'm worried the U.S. might invade over this, hell I'm surprised the U.S. hasn't tried invading Venezuela yet.

[Zav]

We really don't need to do any more drilling. The environmental consequences have been stated enough elsewhere. If the lack of drilling results in more poverty, that's good (not that poverty is good, of course). Cuba needs a new Communist (or Anarchist) Revolution.

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

I'm not sure letting the foreign cappies do the drilling is such a good idea.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Well, they can reverse the tragic reforms of the 2011 Congress.

I doubt they will, which will prove me right. They are on course for free-market Capitalism, oil or not.

[W1N5T0N]

fuck oil.

[Tommy4ever]

I'm not sure letting the foreign cappies do the drilling is such a good idea.

The problem here is that without these companies Cuba would probably have to just leave these oil supplies be. It seems unlikely that the financially troubled Cuban government would be able to afford to put up the necessary investment in capital and experts to do the drilling itself.

In the end it will probably be good for the Cuban government, but bad for socialism as it will undoubtedly push the government to a more pro-buisness and rightwing position.

[piet11111]

Why not ask the chinese for help in exchange for a supply guarantee after losing libya they probably are eager for a new supplier.

[bricolage]

If the lack of drilling results in more poverty, that's good (not that poverty is good, of course).
Eh? Contradiction much?

[Salyut]

Why not ask the chinese for help in exchange for a supply guarantee after losing libya they probably are eager for a new supplier.

They've already got Sudan for that. Although I could easily see them getting involved - I forget the name of their state owned oil corporation but it has a presence in the Alberta oil sands. If they've moved into that area, I see no reason they won't swoop in on the Cuban fields as fast as possible.


It really depends on how they decide to use it, I mean Venezuela has used its oil to provide for the people, and help maintain economic Independence, but honestly I'm worried the U.S. might invade over this, hell I'm surprised the U.S. hasn't tried invading Venezuela yet.

Military action would be really expensive, and probably would end up in a world-class clusterfuck. Easier to destabilize the regime or push Columbia to do it. Direct action would probably raise hell with oil prices, and no government wants to deal with that shit. Plus China would not be amused, and it isn't in American interest to piss off the folks that could start dumping USD or whatever.

[chegitz guevara]

It's not just the equipment (which is scarce). It also requires specific types of engineers. It's the fact o these engineers leaving Venezuela that has caused Veneuzla's oil production to drop over time.

Can't say I'm especially tickled about oil drilling off my coast. We don't allow drilling off of Florida.

[Die Neue Zeit]

They've already got Sudan for that. Although I could easily see them getting involved - I forget the name of their state owned oil corporation but it has a presence in the Alberta oil sands. If they've moved into that area, I see no reason they won't swoop in on the Cuban fields as fast as possible.

PetroChina.


It's not just the equipment (which is scarce). It also requires specific types of engineers. It's the fact o these engineers leaving Venezuela that has caused Veneuzla's oil production to drop over time.

Can't say I'm especially tickled about oil drilling off my coast. We don't allow drilling off of Florida.

I know Venezuela had a management "strike," but couldn't the government bid for the services of foreign engineers? Shouldn't the government also have crash-course education programs aimed at churning out those same types?

[Rusty Shackleford]

*Insert Several Tropico References Here*

[pastradamus]

Exactly as DNZ said. Enjoy it, make it benefit the people but dont squander it on foreign profiteers!

[Post-Something]

The US consumes about 21 million barrels a day. Although this is worth a lot of money for the Cubans, its not really that much in terms of oil. People who are writing over the US invading Cuba are crazy, that will definitely not happen. This isn't even enough to last America one year, and Cuba obviously doesn't pose the same kind of threat to the US as they used to.