(Fl Sen) Nelson: Block Cuban oil drilling

[Mika]

Nelson: Block Cuban oil drilling
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/14448166.htm

Throwing a grenade into the fight over oil drilling off Florida's coastline, Sen. Bill Nelson plans to announce today legislation that he says could prevent Cuba from drilling in its waters some 50 miles off Key West.

The Florida Democrat says his bill would block President Bush from renewing a 1977 international agreement that allows Cuba to conduct commercial activity in waters off its coast, near the Keys -- unless the administration secures an agreement to prevent Cuba from putting oil rigs near Florida.

The legislation is likely to rile already testy U.S.-Cuban relations, and it was unclear late Thursday how the United States might enforce a ban on Cuban drilling for oil or natural gas in the Florida Straits if the agreement lapsed. However, according to a draft of the bill obtained by The Miami Herald, the legislation would seek to discourage foreign oil companies from drilling near Cuba by imposing sanctions against them.

-

Nelson's legislation would look to dampen foreign enthusiasm for drilling near Cuba by sanctioning executives of foreign oil companies.

According to the draft bill, the U.S. secretary of state could deny visas to oil company executives, curbing their ability to conduct business in the United States -- in a move patterned after the Helms-Burton law that denies visas to executives of foreign companies that invest in properties seized by Cuba after the 1959 revolution.

Never mind that this violates international treaties, and Cuba's sovereignty. :eyes:


Denying more visas (now) to foreign oil execs over Cuba.. Just makin' new friends.


More at.. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/14448166.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. This is sad. He's really trying to attract the Miami gangsters.

Even Cuban "exile" Republican Senator Mel Martinez, who has been inseparable from the Miami Mafia, in general, is looking at this with discomfort.

From the article:

Kirby Jones, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association -- which promotes trade with Cuba and organized a February energy conference between Cuban government officials and U.S. companies interested in exploring Cuban waters -- predicted the Cuban government will scoff at Nelson's efforts.

''They have an international treaty agreement that is signed. They have a similar agreement with Mexico and it's existed for 29 years and everyone has operated under those boundaries,'' Jones said. 'Nelson coming along saying, `It's against the law for Cuba to do X, Y or Z in its own waters?' The Cubans will laugh at us.''
(snip)

Canada and Brazil have been involved in oil drilling for years already around Cuba. It's crazy to claim control of Cuba's waters.

Why does Nelson have to get so grabby? He's FAR, FAR, FAR ahead of Katherine Harris without making an ass of himself to get the "exile" Republican votes.

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. He didn't get elected in the first place snubbing the Cuban exile

community.

[IndianaGreen]

21. Everytime a Democrat tries to out-Republican a Republican, he loses

Remember when Gore sided with the Miami crazies on the Elian Gonzales case?

Nelson can go to hell for all I care! Better yet, put him on the next shuttle flight to test the safety of the foam. Let the Almighty decide!

[sinkingfeeling]

2. So now we can tell other countries what they can/cannot do in their

own waters? Is there any end to the arrogance of this country?

[Mika]

17. Not telling other countries, telling foreign corporations: Helms-Burton

The US sanctions on Cuba have been extra territorial all along. The penalties to businesses for trading with Cuba are: not being allowed to trade with the US.


Click here for a Google search on Helms-Burton & Cuba trade

[Robbien]

19. Ha! It is China that has an agreement for exploration with Cuba

The China government owned oil company.

Which is why Nelson's panties are twisted.

[stevietheman]

3. Against Cruella, does he even need the extremist Cuban exile vote? n/t

n/t

[Ignacio Upton]

22. Maybe he's assuming that Cruella may leave

If he runs against Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, or (this is a wet dream for the Republicans) Tommy Franks.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[arcos]

6. In what way is this "looking out for his constituents"? nt

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[jukes]

10. what makes you suppose

we have the right to make decisions for cuba or china? this is outright imperialism and extortion.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jukes]

13. ooh! good 1!

caught the librul in a trap didn't you, you sly fox!


'snot what i said, i posited that america has no legal or moral right to dictate policy for cuba or china re: drilling in cuban territorial waters.


did you know that moles are creepy, unintelligent little mammals that eat bugs and have poor eyesight?

[donsu]

5. Nelson needs to be voted out

nt

[Ignacio Upton]

23. And replaced with Senator Cruella?

Want Moxie and Spunk to yield the Senate floor? I'd rather have Nelson, even though this legislation is pandering.

[QC]

26. But don't you understand??? He's IMPURE!! IMPURE, I tells ya!

[Judi Lynn]

7. Here's an interesting article written a couple of years ago.

It indicates multiple countries have been involved in this oil exploration already:

volume 9, issue #17 - Wednesday, September 01, 2004

sponsored by:

Search for oil off Cuban shores yields mixed findings
30-07-04 A Spanish company's search for oil off Cuban shores has yielded signs that high-quality petroleum is in the area, but the oil found so far is not commercially viable.

Repsol-YPF'S mixed findings deflated some hopes in Havana that a major new oil reserve might be tapped 25 miles off Cuba's northwest corner. Such a finding could solve Cuba's long-standing energy crisis and boost its faltering, post-Soviet economic recovery. Though Repsol's drilling has ceased for the moment, it will continue prospecting off Cuba's shores. Other companies, including Canada's Sherritt International and Brazil's state oil company Petrobras, are keeping a close eye on Repsol's findings.

Oil industry analysts and foreign investors said it was too early to speculate on how these early findings would affect future oil prospects in Cuba. About seven weeks after drilling began in Repsol's well, a mile below the ocean's surface, COO Ramon Blanco announced the results.
"The existence of a petroleum system has been confirmed. Also we have been able to prove the presence of high-quality reservoirs," Blanco said. "Nevertheless, the well has been considered non-commercial and, at this stage, the group is defining future exploration activities in the area," Blanco added.

The Spanish oil giant will take 8 to 10 months to complete studies on the well site and will likely return to drilling in the area in a year, with the hope of finding more commercially viable reserves nearby, said a Repsol spokesman. While advanced technology has made offshore oil drilling far more accurate in pinpointing reserves, it is still a high-risk undertaking. It is not unusual for drills to hit several dry or non-commercial reserves before striking a rich reserve, said Michael Rodgers, senior director at PFC Energy, a Washington-based consulting firm.
"This is a foreign basin where there's very little information. Just because they didn't make a commercial discovery on the first well does not condemn the area," Rodgers said. "What they will be looking at is samples from the well and integrating that with existing seismic data to identify future drilling targets. It's like deciphering a code."

Ernie Lalonde, a vice president at Canada's Sherritt International, the only other company that holds a contract to explore off Cuban shores, said it will take time to interpret Repsol's results. Sherritt is currently Cuba's largest oil producer with wells dotting Cuba's north-central coast. Those wells produce a low-quality, sulphurous crude. The company is studying seismic data from the Gulf of Mexico to target a deep-sea well, but has not announced a date for drilling.
"We're very interested in following the progress of Repsol," Lalonde said.
(snip/...)

http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cnl43591.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It would seem appropriate to imagine Bill Nelson won't be able to throw a wrench into this process, one would think.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Wow! He's dragging his ass over to Coral Gables today on his "mission"

Posted on Fri, Apr. 28, 2006
Senator to speak against Cuba's oil exploration
By JASMINE KRIPALANI
[e-mail]

Sen. Bill Nelson will be in Coral Gables this morning to talk more about his legislation aimed at preventing Cuba from further oil drilling.

Nelson is scheduled to speak at 10:45 a.m. in the lobby of the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave.

Nelson's legislation would prevent the Bush administration from renewing a 1977 international agreement that allows Cuba to conduct commercial activity near the Florida Keys.
(snip/...)

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/14451776.htm

Isn't Coral Gables the town where the Cuban American National Foundation is located? Sheesh!

[seasat]

14. One thing to consider is the Gulf Stream/Loop Current.

It comes pretty close to shore near the Keys and S. Florida. If there is a massive oil spill, it would smear the reefs in the Keys and SE Florida. That's the reason that I oppose drilling off Florida's coast. The reefs are in bad enough shape without getting hit by a large spill.

[Judi Lynn]

15. You might want to consider the damage already done by U.S. taxpayer-

subsidized Cuban "exile" sugar plantation owners, the Fanjuls, whose run-off, bearing a heavy phospherous load ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, and also the periodic sewage blasts into the Gulf from the Miami laughably inadequate sewage system.



Pepe and Alphonso Fanjul

[seasat]

18. Also the degradation of the Everglades.

I'm an oceanographer in S Florida so I'm very aware of the anthropogenic nutrient enrichment. I've actually gone out and measured it. It ticked me off to no end how Jebbie changed the monitoring of phosphate in the glades from the source water to an average. Any biologist with half a brain cell knows that the water after it passes through all the vegetation displacing the native grasses will be cleaned of phosphate. The result is that the levels look lower but the grasses are still being replaced by cattails. All because of Jebbie supporting his big sugar daddies.

I didn't post that about oil spills affecting the Keys because I approve of the sanctions against Cuba. I think they should all be dropped. However, whether it benefits the Cuba lobby or not, drilling near Florida is a huge potential disaster. The reefs in the Keys are in serious decline and coating them with oil because you want to spite the expats is not an equal trade in my book.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Cuba agrees to buy another $20 million in farm goods from US state of Alab

Cuba agrees to buy another $20 million in farm goods from US state of Alabama

AP
Friday, April 28, 2006

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba agreed on Wednesday to buy another US$20 million in agricultural goods from Alabama, one of several U.S. farm states still pushing for more trade with the communist-run island despite tightened U.S. restrictions.

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks told a news conference that his southern state's relationship with Cuba in recent years had been "extremely important to the farmers of Alabama."

"Agriculture is very important to Alabama, representing 467,000 jobs," Sparks said. "The relationship with Cuba ensures we keep those jobs."

The US$20 million mentioned in Cuba's letter of intent was expected to include paper and wood, as well as poultry, said Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban food import firm Alimport
(snip/...)

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20060427T220000-0500_103446_OBS_CUBA_AGREES_TO_BUY_ANOTHER_____MILLION_IN_FARM_GOODS_FROM_US_STATE_OF_ALABAMA_.asp

On edit, adding article:

Cuba agrees to buy another $20 million in farm goods from US state of Alabama
The Associated Press

Cuba agreed Wednesday to buy another $20 million (euro16.14 million) in agricultural goods from Alabama, among several U.S. farm states still pushing for more trade with the communist-run island despite tightened U.S. restrictions.

Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks told a news conference that his southern state's relationship with Cuba in recent years had been "extremely important to the farmers of Alabama."

"Agriculture is very important to Alabama, representing 467,000 jobs," Sparks said. "The relationship with Cuba ensures we keep those jobs."

The $20 million (euro16.14 million) in goods mentioned in Cuba's letter of intent was expected to include paper and wood, as well as poultry, said Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban food import firm Alimport.

Cuba last week agreed to buy another $30 million (euro24.3 million) in food from Nebraska during a visit here by that state's Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach.
(snip/...)

http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/APF/604261083&cachetime=5

[IndianaGreen]

20. Motherfucker is sleeping with CANF

Fuck him!

[seasat]

24. Here's Nelson's press release on his action

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bill Nelson today unveiled legislation aimed at preventing Cuba from further oil drilling just 45 miles off Florida.

“At risk are the Florida Keys and the state’s tourism economy, not to mention the $8 billion that Congress is investing to restore the Everglades,” said Nelson, a leader in the fight to prevent U.S. oil companies from drilling off Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nelson’s new legislation would prevent the Bush administration from renewing a 1977 international agreement that allows Cuba to conduct commercial activity near the Keys – unless the administration gets an agreement that prevents Cuba from putting oil rigs close to Florida. It was last year that wildcatters from Canada, Spain and other countries signed agreements with Fidel Castro to explore for oil off the island’s northwest shores.

So far, there have been no significant finds of commercially viable oil. Yet some members of Congress now are citing Cuba’s plans to drill close to Florida as justification for their proposal to allow U.S. oil companies to drill 20 miles off Florida’s Gulf coast.

Nelson, along with U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, is involved in an ongoing effort to protect Florida’s coast from the ravages of oil drilling. The two senators filed bipartisan legislation in February to block an oil-industry’s assault in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Their bill set the drilling boundary no closer than 150 miles from the Panhandle and about 260 miles from the west coast.

Besides getting rid of the 1977 agreement with Cuba, the new legislation Nelson filed Thursday afternoon also would allow the administration to punish executives of foreign oil companies who continue drilling off the northern coast of Cuba. The secretary of state could deny them visas and curb their ability to conduct business here. This borrows from the existing Helms-Burton law that denies visas to executives of foreign companies that invest in properties seized by Cuba after the 1959 revolution. U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business in Cuba under the separate decades-old trade embargo.

Under current law, the U.S. claims control of all waters 200 miles off its coasts. In 1977, however, the U.S. and Cuba negotiated a line equally dividing control of the 90 miles of sea between the Florida Keys and the island nation. But the Senate never ratified the international agreement as a treaty; and, it has only been renewed every two years by the State Department. It expired Jan. 1 this year; and, the administration hasn’t yet renewed it, according to the Office of Cuban Affairs at the State Department. Absent a clear agreement on maritime boundaries, multinational corporations may be more reluctant to invest the millions of dollars needed to explore for oil in a disputed area, Nelson said.

How would it look if Nelson supported Cuba drilling near the Keys while he opposes drilling near the rest of Florida's coast. Now it seems to me that Nelson is not pandering to the Expats (who are probably going to support the Repug anyway). He is being consistent with his stand that we should not allow drilling off the coast of Florida. I know there are cases where Nelson does pander to the Expats but this not one of them.

[Mika]

25. Cuba causes so very little petrochemical pollution compared to the US.

While I too am concerned about the state of the Caribbean/Gulf reef systems (having been to school to get a marine biology degree and having dived around most of Florida's and Cuba's reef systems), BUT, the greatest damage being done to both Florida's and Cuba's coral comes from ocean warming and the petrochemical/fertilizer toxins flowing from the Mississippi and around the Fl Gulf coast around the keys and around to the Gulf Stream/Caribbean waters.

It is Cuba that should be screaming the loudest at the damages being done to the corals by the USA and risking Cuba's #1 industry - tourism. (Well, actually, Cuba's marine biologists and oceanographers do scream at the damages being done by the US's under-regulated/monitored industrial pollution. But who in the the US MSM is willing to print it?) This is one more possible reason that the Bush admin. has been cutting off the visas to Cuban scientists, marine biologists, ocean temperature researchers, etc etc, who want to work with their US counterparts over the last 6 years.


Nelson has a lot of chutzpah accusing Cuba of risking Florida's tourism while it is the constituents of Florida (mainly the miamicubanos and most all Florida politicians including Nelson who pander to their intransigence) who have done everything in their power to try to destroy Cuba's tourism industry.

[seasat]

27. I don't disagree with most of that but...

I still don't want oil rigs off the Keys or the West Florida shelf no matter who puts them there. Recent modeling studies demonstrate that a major spill that gets caught up in the Gulf Stream or Florida Loop Current will end up fouling the Florida reefs and beaches. (LINK)

I agree that Nelson panders to the Expats. He is one of those politicians that always plays it safe and only does what he thinks is politically expedient to preserve his senate seat. He is not pandering to the Expats here, since he is also leading the charge in the Senate to block drilling by US companies in the Gulf. Nelson has also heavily supported the Everglades restoration against Shrub Inc's efforts to water it down (LINK). He isn't exactly a card carrying Green Peace guy but he regularly scores positively in his support of environmental issues (LINK). My point is save your ammo for a more valid criticism of Nelson. He's pandering to us Floridians that oppose offshore drilling not the Miami Cubans.

Added on edit: Worse than the outflow from the Mississippi is local eutrophication. A recent study demonstrated that what the Keys residents flush into their septic systems ends up out on the reefs. The Florida Keys badly need a tertiary water treatment system to minimize the damage. One of the major affects on the reefs, according to a recent talk I attended by Mike Lesser, is the combination of increased water temperature and these other factors. The bleaching and stress from the increased water temperature leads to greater damage by local pollution, sedimentation, other stressors. That is why that it is imperative that we keep these rigs off the coast.

[IndianaGreen]

28. Cuba is a sovereign nation, not a whorehouse for horny Americans

which is what it was prior to the 1959 revolution. If Cuba wants to drill in her waters, she can, and there is nothing that a white wealthy American Senator with a D or an R after their name can do about it.

[Mika]

29. If Americans really don't want oil rigs they should stop driving SUV's...

.. and when Bill Nelson initiates (and the "concerned" people of Florida support) a funding stream for proper sewage treatment in the Keys, then I might reconsider my opinion of him. As it stands, it is the US that has caused the overwhelming damage to the Florida coral reef systems (as well as the Cuba reef systems), and if/when the US cleans up its act on such activities ONLY then will pandering pond scum like Nelson have a foot to stand on regarding his stance on Cuba's energy needs.

If Americans and Floridians consume oil/gas like the gas gluttons that they are than we deserve to have oil rigs on our coasts. Cuban's aren't even consuming energy at 1/10th the per capita of Americans. Their oil exploration/development is of a subsistence nature. Cuba far surpasses the US on energy conservation practices (mainly out of necessity) and is developing alternative energy systems as fast as they can. There have been several DU threads on Cuba's developing solar energy generation, organic (non petrochemical) farming developments island wide, mandatory low energy lighting installation, government provided low energy cooking systems, and on and on. Cuba is doing more that its fair share of energy conservation and environmental protection. PLUS, unlike the US, Cuba has leadership that recognizes and develops environmental awareness education programs that connects the Cuban people to the world. Cuba's president and prime minister, along with other Cuban ministers of the state, are touring the world to speak about and teach and learn of the emerging global crisis connecting energy consumption and global weather disruptions. Cuba faces the brunt of these disturbances - mainly hurricanes - and has done incredible work at mitigating the human toll of the catastrophes. Cubans I've met have more awareness of these issues than do most Americans that I've met.

The US could learn a lot from Cuba - but so far it refuses to do so.

[seasat]

30. Now I remember why I avoid your threads.

Have fun bash away.

[Mika]

31. Oh well.

:hurts:

[Mojorabbit]

32. It would be a disaster

to have drilling so near floridas coast. Even worse a cat 5 taking those rigs out. The amount of environmental degradation I have seen here in Florida in the past fourty years saddens me.

[donsu]

33. I had read that Cuba was interested in drilling over to the W. end of

the island by Mexico?

[Vogon_Glory]

34. I'd Really Rather Someone Else Does The Drilling

I'd really rather that someone else other than Pemex does the drilling off the Pinar del Rio region. The last big Gulf oil spill I remember was the Ixtoc no. 1 over 20 years ago.