LA JOLLA, Calif. , (Reuters) – The arrival of a unique oil rig off communist Cuba is set to cause waves in Washington, raising questions about U.S. drilling permits and the response to any disaster, a conference heard on Tuesday. Spanish giant Repsol YPF is due to bring the Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig to the Caribbean island later this year to drill at least one well in partnership with Norway’s Statoil and a unit of India’s ONGC .
“I think it’s going to have a much bigger impact on U.S. domestic policy than it is on Cuba,” said Jorge Pinon, visiting research fellow with Florida International University Latin American and Caribbean Center’s Cuban Research Institute.
The main reason is that Repsol plans to use the high-tech semi-submersible Scarabeo 9 for a deepwater drilling bid in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico zone, parts of
