Russia to help Cuba with production of rifle ammunition

Russia and Cuba are planning to sign a contract on building an assembly line for production of ammunition for Kalashnikov assault rifles, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday.

According to a source in the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, cited by Kommersant, an assembly line for 7.62-mm rounds used in Kalashnikov assault rifles and other Russian-made rifles will be built at Cuba’s Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara military plant.

The source said that Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport had already prepared a contract, which includes the license and technology transfer.

The official did not specify the value of the contract but said Russia was hoping to receive a contract in the future on a complete overhaul of rifle ammunition production facilities in Cuba, which were built in 1970s-1980s with the help of Soviet specialists.

A Rosoboronexport source has confirmed the planned contract with Cuba but refused to provide more details on the subject, Kommersant said.

Although the Cuban leadership has repeatedly said it has no intention of resuming military cooperation with Russia after the surprise closure of the Russian electronic listening post in Lourdes in 2001, bilateral military ties seem to have been improving since 2008.

Chief of the Russian General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said during his visit to Cuba in 2009 that modernization of the Soviet-made military equipment and training of Cuban military personnel will be the focus of Russian-Cuban military cooperation in the future.

Source: Ria Novosti

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Russia's Gazprom Neft gains stake in four deepwater blocks offshore Cuba

With the approval from the Cuban authorities, Russian firm Gazprom Neft has gained interest in four deepwater oil and gas exploration blocks offshore Cuba.

Gazprom Neft, Cuba's national oil company Cubapetroleo (Cupet) and Malaysia's national oil company Petronas have signed a Supplementary Agreement to the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) on four blocks in the Gulf of Mexico offshore Cuba.

Through the agreement, Gazprom will now hold a 30 percent stake in deepwater Blocks 44, 45, 50 and 51 of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cuba. Petronas holds the remaining 70 percent interest in the project.

According to Oil & Gas Journal, the blocks are located 100 to 200 miles west of Havana.

Cuban Timeline

To date, 2D seismic has been performed across the acreage, and as of November 2010, an exploration well was scheduled for drilling in 2011.

In addition to the exploration and development of the blocks, the agreement allows for the production of oil through 2037 and the production of natural gas through 2042.

Petronas signed the PSC with the government of Cuba in 2006, and in October 2010, Gazprom Neft and Petronas signed a farm-out agreement and a Heads of Joint Operations Agreement on the leasehold.

After receiving approval from the Cuban authorities, Gazprom Neft and Petronas signed a Deed of Assignment, as well as a Joint Operating Agreement in July 2011.

“This partnership with Petronas will help Gazprom Neft to enforce its competence in the sphere of deepwater development and expand its expertise in projects outside of Russia,” said Alexander Dyukov, chairman of Gazprom Neft. “By 2020, we plan to have about 10 percent of our overall production from overseas projects.”

International Interest Offshore Cuba

While US firms are prohibited from operating in Cuba, many international oil and gas producers are eager to explore the Gulf of Mexico offshore Cuba. 

Following an oil discovery in 2004, Spanish operator Repsol has contracted the newbuild deepwater semisub Scarabeo 9 to drill for oil offshore Cuba. The rig constructor Keppel FELS reported that the rig is nearly ready.

Having drilled in Cuba before, Brazilian major Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) has also signed a joint oil and exploration production agreement for Block 37 offshore Cuba, and Venezuela's state-run firm PDVSA has also said that it will explore offshore Cuban waters for oil and gas.

By Phaedra Friend Troy

Source: PennEnergy

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Gazprom gets stake in blocks off North Cuba

Cuban offshore blocks.

JSC Gazprom Neft will acquire a 30% stake from Malaysia’s state Petronas in four Gulf of Mexico blocks off Cuba’s western coast.

Blocks 44, 45, 50, and 51 lie 100-200 miles west of Havana and slightly farther southwest of Key West, Fla.

The agreement is subject to approval by Cuban authorities. Gazprom said, “The possibility to work on the shelf of Cuba was initially considered by Gazprom Neft’s board of directors in early October 2010, when the board acknowledged a positive long-term outlook to the company’s activity in this region.”

Cuba’s government signed the production-sharing agreement covering the four Cuban foreland basin shelf blocks with Petronas in 2007. Petronas holds the remaining 70% interest.

The PSA provides for geological exploration on the blocks with the possibility of oil production until 2037 and gas production until 2042. Petronas has shot 2D seismic on the blocks and expects to spud the first exploratory well in 2011.

From: Oil & Gas Journal

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FARC commander 'Mono Jojoy' killed. Chavez and Castro losing terrain in Latin America

Jorge Briceño "Mono Jojoy" (right) with Manuel Marulanda Velez "Tirofijo" (killed 2 years ago)

The FARC's military chief, Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, alias "Mono Jojoy," was killed by Colombian state forces, local media reported on Thursday. The news is not yet confirmed by the authorities.

According to the media sources, the leader of the FARC's Eastern Bloc and member of the FARC's Secretariat was killed in an air strike in La Macarena in central Colombia.

Caracol Radio said a military source confirmed the guerrilla leader's death. RCN Radio also said it had had the news confirmed. According to W Radio, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos would not confirm the news.

Mono Jojoy, also known as "Jorge Briceño Suárez," was allegedly the boss of virtually all guerrillas involved in the rebel's war with the state.

Mono Jojoy was considered the military leader of the country's largest guerrilla organization and responsible for holding hostage captured politicians, policemen and soldiers. The veteran guerrilla had a $1.3 million reward on his head and 62 arrest warrants against him.

From: Colombia Reports 

Video - CNN reports

And this is the last part of an interesting article related: The end of the colombian FARC is near.

...It is a fact that the colombian have been successfull in fighting the FARC. The main leaders are dead (Marulanda and Reyes) , in jail , out of the country or on the run ( Mono Jojoy).

The FARC have been defeated in several encounters with the colombian military, and there is a certain possibility that the remaining FARC leader still on the field , alias Mono Jojoy, will sucumb. That if he does not manage to escape through Venezuela or Ecuador.

What will happen with the defeat of the FARC? War, says Chavez. I do not think so.

There is a possibility that the remaining guerrillas will try to survive by using the borders of Venezuela and Ecuador. That will regionalize the conflict and would oblige Chavez and Correa to make a decission. They must be very clear in the definition of which side they will be. The end of Gral. Noriega should be a reminder for those statesmen playing with fire.

The weakening of the FARC will cause that the production of cocain in the region will be reduced -for a while- , and the structure of the production and distribution of narcotics in the region will change.

However, there are more players in the field. Hidden players. Very significant players. Russia and Cuba.

Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Evo Morales

Why Cuba? Fidel Castro’s inheritance is to make sure that four or five “pro castrist” leaders in Latin America will remain in power after his death, like Chavez, Correa, Morales, Ortega. He is giving them all his dictatorial know how, specially in the case of Chavez. The ideologist of the “bolivarian” associaton of ALBA is not Chavez , but Fidel Castro. The “Comandante” wants to make it very difficult for the United States in Latin America. He wants also disciples like Chavez to carry on his message. That will be his legacy to the world.

He is not longer interested in the faith of the cuban people. His brother Raul is now the administrator of Cuba. Raul does the homework and Fidel supervise his brother. Fidel is much more interested in saving his place in history. He said once “the history will judge me”, but he wants to be sure that the history will judge him well. The defeat of the FARC will be a setback for Fidel’s ´political plans, because it will push Chavez and Correa in the corner of the political ringside in Latin America.

So, Fidel and Chavez will do everything to stop Colombia and USA from defeating the FARC.

Why Russia? Vladimir Putin and his “mob style” surrounding of oligarchs and former KGB agents wants to recover influence in former soviet republics like f.e. Georgia and Ukraine. Russia want also to stop the expansion of the US in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. One way for Russia to do so is to start playing geopolitics in the region considered by USA as its own backyard: Latin America. As a consequence of that, the military presence of Russia in Venezuela is getting important and will be expanded.

Russia sees with good eyes the increasing economical presence of China in the region.

Maybe Russia wants to force USA to make a trade, similar to the agreements between Kruschev and Kennedy (no nukes in Cuba, no nukes in Turkey).. In this case could be Chavez in exchange for Mikheil Saakashvili or Viktor Yushchenko.

Finally, it is a fact that the expansion of the presence of US military in Colombia is the most important geopolitical move of USA in the last years in order to recover the lost influence of the US in Latin America....

The US objectives are: to defeat the FARC, to reduce the production and distribution of illegal narcotics to the US, to support Colombia as his first ally in South America, to weaken Chavez and his gang, to assure that the history will judge Fidel in a proper way and finally to deal with Russia and China on a more global scope.

Latin America is in fashion now. The big global players are there, once again.. for old times sake. Same tune, thirty years after. Play it again, Sam…

24/09/2010 - Death of El "Mono Jojoy" finally confirmed, the Colombian Government revealed a picture of the body

Last picture of El "Mono Jojoy"

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Cuba may link up to Glonass system, Russia's satellite navigation system

Glonass receiver

Moscow and Havana plan to connect Cuba to the Glonass navigation satellite system, the Russian ambassador to Cuba said on Wednesday.

Glonass - the Global Navigation Satellite System - is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, and is designed for both military and civilian use. Both systems enable users to determine their positions to within a few meters.

Russia and Cuba are currently developing cooperation in the sphere of advanced technology, Mikhail Kamynin noted.

"Our plans include a detailed work on connecting Cuba to the Glonass system," the ambassador said.

From:  RIA Novosti

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