Russia to Search for Oil in Gulf of Mexico

Russia's ambassador to Cuba says his country's oil companies are interested in searching for oil in deep Gulf of Mexico waters off of the Caribbean island.

Ambassador Mijail Kamynin's comments appeared in the state-run newspaper Opciones on Saturday. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to visit Cuba on Thursday.

Opciones reported that Kamynin spoke of "concrete projects related to Russian oil companies' participation in the perforation of the Cuban area of the Gulf."

Kamynin also said Russian companies would like to help build storage tanks for crude oil and modernize Cuban pipelines, as well as play a role in Venezuelan efforts to refurbish a Soviet-era refinery in the port city of Cienfuegos.

Author: Jo Amey