CUBA State Oil Co. Plans to Dig 24 New Oil Wells

[magbana]

"Cuba State Oil Co Plans To Dig 24 New Oil Wells


HAVANA (AFP)--Cuba's state oil company Cuba Petroleos, or Cupet, said Monday it intended to dig 24 new oil wells this year to increase hydrocarbon production.

"In 2009, Cupet has decide to increase its drilling with our own resources," the company's General Director Julio Jimenez said on state television. He said 16 of the 24 oil wells will be completed this year.

Using "completely national funding," this development project will be carried out with the help of foreign and Cuban companies using a modern drilling technique in shallow waters off the coast, the company said. The total amount of the funding wasn't given.

The project includes the Varadero deposit in western Matanzas province, home to the Cuba's largest oil deposits with approximately 4.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.

About a dozen foreign companies currently help Cuba extract 80,000 barrels of crude oil a day, which meets 47% of the country's consumption.

The rest of Cuba's supply comes from Venezuela, which provides 92,000 barrels of oil a day at a preferential rate.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-16-091919ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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