Havana - Manuel Marrero, an advisor at Cuba''s Energy and Mines Ministry (Minem in Spanish), told Prensa Latina that the nation ''needs foreign investment in order to develop, particularly in expensive and high risk sectors such as oil exploration and production.''

He added that 'nature blessed our archipelago and adjacent waters with hydrocarbon resources of importance, resulting in favourable geological-oil scenario.'

The Cuba-Petroleum Union (Cupet) and Minem are currently conducting a promotional campaign to encourage further foreign investment in oil exploration and production.

The country currently drills long-range wells with equipment that has a horizontal segment in the lower end that has perforated to 7,000m.

This work is underway on some 8 km long oilfields that stretch out from the coast to structures revealed by seismic studies. Drilling in such conditions is expensive because submersible platforms are required.

Cuban specialists, assisted by foreign companies, have mastered the horizontal, long-range technology, which is very important.

The country presently produces some 4 million tons of oil, including extra-heavy crude and gas, sufficient to meet 45% of domestic energy consumption.

One of Cupet and Minem's most important lines of work for the country is the ongoing promoting of foreign investment, especially in this field, in which US companies are welcomed to participate.

A number of business community delegations from the US have visited the island to explore opportunities in the hydrocarbon sector, and significant scientific and technical exchanges have taken place.

'We are very optimist that sooner or later the blockade will be lifted and allow cooperation between the two neighbouring nations. Then, a collaboration, beneficial to both parties could be established,' the specialist said.

Short-term prospects could include US companies working in Cuba's Mexican Gulf Economic Exclusive Zone and provision by North American firms of equipment, as a way to start doing business with Cuba and Cupet.

As geographical and geological neighbours, joint in-depth analysis on geology and oil industry expertise in the US and Mexican zones is essential to assess gas and oil prospects in Cuba.

Mexican specialists are presently conducting comparative studies on Cuban geology and some US companies are also engaged in research.

This will be vital for when possibilities to invest on the island open up.

China's BGP company -one of the world's most important in its field- recently concluded a more than 25,000 km two dimensional seismic study.

Cupet is working tirelessly to extract more oil from wells in the northern zone. To this end, it commenced a state financed an exploratory campaign and continues to promote a higher degrees of foreign investment.

The advisor said however, 'in my opinion, our greatest volume of oil lies in the Gulf of Mexico Economic Exclusive Zone, where scientific studies conducted by Cuban and foreign specialists indicate the presence of up to 15,000 million barrels of extractable oil.'

He concluded by saying that there was no Cuban law keeping US companies from investing or working in this industry on the island, on the contrary it is Washington's hostile economic blockade that prevents them from doing business in Cuba.