Cuba: Desperately seeking self-sufficiency

IF OIL IS FOUND in sufficient quantities during exploration in Cuba's Exclusive Economic Zone, in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, it could trigger a major refinery-building effort in which investors from the English-speaking Caribbean would be welcome to take part. So says Matthew Pickles, senior manager of Ernst and Young's Havana office. Speaking at an energy conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Pickles stressed that the Castro government's 'overriding priority' is to find substantial quantities of oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico and build-up complementary refining capacity to meet local demand for oil products—estimated at about 190,000 barrels a day (b/d). Onshore and nearshor