“For us, the major goal is to prevent these major accidents from happening,” said Fidel Ilizastigui Perez, an official of Cuba’s Office for Environment and Nuclear Safety Regulation.
“The companies must show that they meet all international standards,” he told the conference in Port of Spain.
Perez said Cuban officials had studied and already implemented oil industry safety practices from Britain and incorporated others from the United States.
Mr. Perez participated in the 2005 International Regulators’ Offshore Safety Conference in London and made a very favorable impression.
Dan Whittle, a senior attorney at the U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund, said the Cuban government appeared to be taking the safety issue seriously because of the potential economic benefit of the project.
“Cuba has a lot at stake,” he said. “They’re doing the best they can with limited resources and with obstacles to access those resources.”
“I think we’re seeing the beginning of a more international dialogue on what the Cubans are planning,” he added.
Sensible comments from the EDF.
Also, Cuba and the Bahamas have agreed on a maritime boundary.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 