Cubans wonder if Oil discovery will Revive Country
Weary from economic hardship, Cubans are eagerly awaiting news of the outcome of oil exploration off Cuba by Spain's Repsol YPF that could turn cash-strapped Havana into an oil producer overnight and breathe life into President Fidel Castro's communist regime. Energy is the Achilles heel of the Cuban government which relies heavily on oil imports from Venezuela to run its oil-fuelled power plants. Economic growth, particularly in the key hard currency-generating tourism sector, is all but impossible without adequate energy resources. [more]