Russia has agreed to plunge into the search for oil in deep waters
between the shores of Cuba and Florida, renewing fears of a major oil
spill and the potential for environmental disaster.
With President Vladimir Putin looking on, Russian companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft signed an energy agreement with Cuba late last month to explore offshore oil deposits. The agreement also calls for Rosneft to build a base at the Cuban port of Mariel to relay equipment and personnel to offshore rigs, linked by pipelines and a helicopter pad.
The drilling area north of Havana straddles the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that rushes north to the Florida coast. Oceanographers warn that an oil slick caused by a major spill could reach Florida's beaches, reefs and marine sanctuaries in about a week.
"If there's a spill in an area within 50 miles of Key West, the immediate vulnerable land areas are going to be in South Florida," former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham warned in an interview last week. "The largest natural reef in the United States is located right near the area where the drilling would take place.
"If there is an accident, there is zero capability in Cuba today to respond to that accident."
Graham, who served two terms as Florida governor, met with Cuban officials in January and co-chaired a presidential commission on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He and energy experts said the Russians have little experience with deep-water drilling and that the U.S. embargo of Cuba prohibits the use of American technology to prevent or respond to a spill.
Read more: Russia plunges into Cuban oil exploration near Florida's shores - Sun Sentinel
With President Vladimir Putin looking on, Russian companies Rosneft and Zarubezhneft signed an energy agreement with Cuba late last month to explore offshore oil deposits. The agreement also calls for Rosneft to build a base at the Cuban port of Mariel to relay equipment and personnel to offshore rigs, linked by pipelines and a helicopter pad.
The drilling area north of Havana straddles the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that rushes north to the Florida coast. Oceanographers warn that an oil slick caused by a major spill could reach Florida's beaches, reefs and marine sanctuaries in about a week.
"If there's a spill in an area within 50 miles of Key West, the immediate vulnerable land areas are going to be in South Florida," former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham warned in an interview last week. "The largest natural reef in the United States is located right near the area where the drilling would take place.
"If there is an accident, there is zero capability in Cuba today to respond to that accident."
Graham, who served two terms as Florida governor, met with Cuban officials in January and co-chaired a presidential commission on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He and energy experts said the Russians have little experience with deep-water drilling and that the U.S. embargo of Cuba prohibits the use of American technology to prevent or respond to a spill.
Read more: Russia plunges into Cuban oil exploration near Florida's shores - Sun Sentinel
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