Drill, Drill Drill: 20 Billion Barrels of Oil in Cuba?

HAVANA -- Cuban officials say that exploratory drilling to assess the potential for oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to resume in the second quarter of this year, a sign that lower world oil prices have not derailed efforts by the Cuban government and its foreign corporate partners to keep moving toward offshore oil production.

Cuba's state oil company (Cupet) has estimated that there are 20 billion barrels of recoverable offshore oil in Cuban waters. The U.S. Geological Survey, though, has issued more conservative estimates: under 5 billion barrels in Cuba's offshore fields.