5 Companies That Should Benefit From Cuba's Deepwater Drilling

HAVANA, Cuba — A Florida couple accused of kidnapping their two young sons and fleeing by boat to Havana will be handed over to the United States, Cuban officials said after taking them into custody at a marina in the capital. U.S. diplomats in Havana said in a statement early Wednesday that the two children had left Cuba and “are safely on their way home.” The statement did not mention whether the parents had left for the U.S.

Oil engineering consultant Steve earns 550,000 Australian dollars (US$560,000) a year and is seeing new graduates signed up for six-figure salaries. These pay rates, along with other rising costs the oil industry cannot control, are sharpening its focus on mass production methods, clever supply deals and investment in innovation. “For oil and gas executives, the need for operational excellence has never been greater,” says industry consultants Bain & Co in a March 1 study on costs.

Deepwater oil drilling off the coast of Cuba is expected to start in September 2011, which is raising some questions about the continuation of the US-Cuba trade embargo.

Kurt Wulff (McDep Associates) submits: Buy recommendations Cimarex Energy (XEC) and Birchcliff Energy (BIREF.PK) have the lowest Enterprise Value per acre of undeveloped land among Small Cap Independent Producers in our coverage.

Zacks.com submits: While it is well known to the oil industry that the ongoing drilling moratorium will continue through the end of this November, the Obama administration may lift it a little earlier. The Interior Department is set to release new regulations/guidelines for deepwater drilling anytime soon.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.’s purchase of a stake in Israel’s largest natural gas deposit takes Asia-Pacific oil and gas acquisitions to a record US$99-billion this year, tying the U.S. for the first time. Australia’s second-largest petroleum producer yesterday said it will pay partners including Noble Energy Inc. an initial US$696-million and as much as US$2.3-billion for part of the Leviathan field. Deals by U.S. energy companies have fallen 35% to US$98.7-billion in 2012, while Asia-Pacific purchases increased 3.8%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

For 51 years the U.S. has imposed an economic embargo against Cuba, severely crippling the island’s economy for its effrontery in choosing a socialist path for development, a policy confirmed and intensified in the wake of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Now the unlikeliest of economic interests may be bringing the two countries closer together – oil. Specifically, oil deposits in the Florida Straits between Key West and Cuba.