"Spain's Repsol oil company announced Tuesday it was 'almost certain' to withdraw from exploration in Cuba, after spending an estimated $150 million on a dry well and seeing far more profitable prospects in other countries such as Brazil and Angola."

"The announcement was a blow to Cuba's hopes to strike it rich quickly, jump-start its stagnant economy and trim its dependence on Venezuelan subsidies, although another foreign company is currently drilling a separate test well and others have options to follow.

'We won't do another well' in Cuba, Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau said in presenting the company's 2012-16 business strategy at a news conference in Madrid on Tuesday. 'The well we drilled turned out dry and it's almost certain that we won't do any more activity there.'"

Juan O. Tamayo reports for the Miami Herald May 30, 2012. [2]