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So, You Still Think There's An Embargo - XXIV
Thursday, February 02, 2006   By: Juan Paxety

Now the oil companies stake their claim

Our addiction to oil, the one President Bush talked about in the State of the Union speech, seems to be driving us to a typical addictive behavior - getting our addictive substance from a bad character. The Miami Herald is reporting US oil executives are talking to fidel:

This week, American energy executives will meet their Cuban counterparts in the first private-sector oil summit between the two countries. Cubans hope to inform the businessmen of their country's oil potential while undermining the embargo, which has often frustrated American corporations.

The three-day meeting, which kicks off today, is sponsored by the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, along with Valero Energy Corp., the United States' biggest oil refiner; the Louisiana Department of Economic Development; and the Texas Port of Corpus Christi, among others.

US oil companies have watched, probably in horror, as companies from India, China, Canada and Norway have explored for Texas tea off the shore of fidel's workers' paradise.

Kirby Jones (seen at right with the billionaire bearded bastard) is president of the US-Cuba Trade Association, and his company, Alamar Associates, organized the meeting. According to its website, Alamar has been in the business of propping up fidel since 1974. Alamar publishes a letter from the president of Cuba's oil company:

TO: All participants in the U.S.-Cuba Energy Summit

On behalf of my colleagues from the Ministry of Basic Industry and CubaPetroleo, I look forward to meeting you at the upcoming U.S.-Cuba Energy Summit to be held in Mexico City from February 2-4, 2006.

In the last few years, Cuba has undertaken a significant expansion in the development of its energy sector. This has involved the investment of $ 1.7 billion on the part of the Government of Cuba and its foreign partners from Canada, Europe, and Latin America.

The exploration of Cuba’s Exclusive Zone in the Gulf of Mexico constitutes one example of the new opportunities for investment in the energy sector. Our activities with the Sherritt International Corporation continue to develop and expand in this area.

This is one example of our objective to develop associations to start up developmental projects in exploration, production, refining, and distribution.

To achieve our objectives in the next few years, we will require investments by additional foreign companies, advanced technologies, special high level services, and all other necessary aspects of the operation and servicing of the entire chain of the industry such as purchase of equipment and services in order to satisfy the national needs and the consumption of electricity.

The Summit in Mexico City will permit us to provide the information that is most useful to your company. Additionally we will have the opportunity to learn about your products and services.
We would be very pleased to have the chance to do business together, but unfortunately that is not possible now. But we can begin the process to get to know each other, exchange contact information, and initiate a process that will keep us both up to date with each other.
In this way, both of us will be prepared to discuss real business opportunities as soon as that becomes possible.

All information about the upcoming U.S.-Cuba Energy Summit is available on its website at www.uscubasummit.org

I look forward to meeting with you in Mexico City this coming February.

Sincerely,

Fidel Rivero Prieto
President
CubaPetroleo

All so civilized. Will the increased energy production get to the people of Cuba, or will it simply be used to provide more reliable power for the tourist hotels?

Other sponsors of the event include Caterpillar, The Port of Corpus Christi, Louisiana Economic Development, Valero Energy Corporation, Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation, National Foreign Trade Council, and USEngage. Their greed is their motive, as shown by the statement of Mike Oliver, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, as quoted in The Herald.

"Nobody wants to be left out, and the potential business in this new market for Louisiana companies is significant,'' Olivier said.

Seems to me the Cuban people have been left out since January 1, 1959.

Update - El Confeti has comments, too, as does La Ventanita at Wall Street Cafe. Marc at Uncommon Sense adds his views here.

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