Rosneft might explore oil deposits on Cuban shelf
MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) - Rosneft might participate in a project to explore oil deposits on the Cuban sea shelf, according to materials prepared for a meeting between Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the President of the Cuban Council of State Raul Castro.
"Rosneft is considering the possibility of joining a project to explore oil deposits on the Cuban sea shelf, as well as to assess systems for developing, pumping and equipping Cuban oil fields and creating a base for logistics, including the possible assembly of key Russian equipment in the Mariel special development zone for subsequent shipment to Venezuela," the documents say.
In addition, Rosneft might ship oil it extracts from Venezuela to be refined at a Cuban refinery in the city of Cienfuegos and exported to countries of the region.
By March 2015, Rosneft had been planning to reprocess test 2D seismic data on up to 300 linear kilometers received from the Cuban shelf in 2009.
According to state-owned Cuban oil company Cupet, oil reserves on the Cuban shelf total around 20 billion barrels. The U.S. geological service estimates reserves at 4-9 billion barrels of oil.