MOSCOW, June 18. /ITAR-TASS/ Cuba hopes to cooperate with the Russian oil corporation Rosneft when it develops its new oilfields, the Cuban Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Ruben Cid who is taking part in the World Oil Congress in Moscow told Itar-Tass Wednesday.

“Talks with Russian oil corporations are underway at the moment,” he said. “The Director General of our national oil company CUPET, Juan Torrez Naranjo, and Rosneft President Igor Sechin signed a memorandum recently in St Petersburg, under which the two companies will do the joint development of oilfields on the Cuban continental shelf.”

Russia and Cuba are working extensively on this project now, “as both countries are interested in signing an agreement in that area.”

“At present, active production of oil is underway in the part of the island belonging to the U.S. but the part belonging to Cuba properly has been very poorly prospected and oil is produced from only four wells there, which is too little,” Cid said. “Hopefully, this contract will be signed.”

“Production in deep waters is expensive enough and that’s why to attract investors there is a much more painstaking job,” he said. “In this respect, we pin hopes on our partners from Venezuela and Angola, as well as on Rosneft. Hopefully this contract will be signed.