
102 Ecological Sustainability
The Orinoco tar sands in Venezuela may hold up to 513 billion bbl oil
(81.6 Bm
3
) (in 2009). Cuba also has undiscovered oil, estimated to be 20 bil-
lion bbl (3.18 Bm
3
) by the Cuban government. [The current Cuban proven
oil reserves are only approximately 124 million bbl (19.7 Mm
3
); their
production rate is 61,300 bbl/day (9.75 km
3
). Without new wells in new
oilelds, Cuban proven reserves may last only approximately 6 years!]
Exploratory drilling is currently being conducted in the deep ocean off
the coast of Cuba, nanced by China and other non-US countries (Yergin
2011).
Oil produced from prospective ...