Mexico, Cuba, US discuss oil and gas boundaries

Mexican, Cuban and US officials held a round of talks to discuss the borders of the so-called Western Polygon, Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Formal boundaries defining who owns what in the area, in the Gulf of Mexico, have not been established.

The talks, in Mexico City, were held as part of efforts to seek a solution and followed the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba last year. The round was the second of its kind between the three countries.

Mexico's foreign ministry said at the time of the talks: "The delegations from the three countries are working on technical aspects to establish the maritime boundaries, exhibiting the spirit of cooperation that exists between them."

They were held parallel to the 4^th US-Cuba bilateral commission in Washington DC, attended by acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs Mari Carmen Aponte, Cuba's foreign ministry's director general for US affairs, Josefina Vidal, and Cuban ambassador to the US José Ramón Cabañas.

​CUBA

Cuban state oil firm Cupet said last October that it planned to begin deepwater exploratory drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in late 2016 or early 2017 as part of its production-sharing contracts with Venezuela's PDVSA and Angola's Sonangol.

The Caribbean country plans to drill at least two 7,000m wells, Cupet's exploration director Osvaldo López was quoted as saying by Cuban media at the time.

If the area Cuba is targeting is in the polygon area an agreement may be necessary before drilling could begin.

Cuba produces about 45,000b/d of crude oil and 3Mm3/d of natural gas, according to official newspaper Granma.