I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5353 
To permit United States companies to participate in the exploration for 
and the extraction of hydrocarbon resources from any portion of a 
foreign maritime exclusive economic zone that is contiguous to the exclu-
sive economic zone of the United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2006 
Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. BASS, and Mrs. MUSGRAVE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
A BILL 
To permit United States companies to participate in the 
exploration for and the extraction of hydrocarbon re-
sources from any portion of a foreign maritime exclusive 
economic zone that is contiguous to the exclusive eco-
nomic zone of the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Western Hemisphere 
Energy Security Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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(1) the United States is the largest oil importer 
in the world; 
(2) the Federal Government predicts that, by 
2025, 68 percent of the oil used in the United 
States will be imported; 
(3) 2⁄3 of the oil reserves of the world are lo-
cated in the politically unstable Middle East and are 
controlled by members of the Organization of Petro-
leum Exporting Countries; 
(4) global fuel consumption is projected to in-
crease by 100 percent to 150 percent during the 
next 20 years, driven largely by the Chinese and In-
dian economies; 
(5) that increased demand for fuel— 
(A) will place the United States in ever- 
greater competition for oil and gas resources; 
and 
(B) may result in an extension of Chinese 
involvement in developing Cuban oil and gas re-
serves to within a few miles of the coastline of 
the United States; 
(6) the United States adheres to the principle 
that, in a case in which the exclusive economic zone 
of the United States is contiguous to the exclusive 
economic zone of another country, a point equi-
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distant to the maritime baselines of the 2 countries 
demarcates the exclusive economic zone of each; 
(7) an example of the application of the prin-
ciple described in paragraph (6) is that the exclusive 
economic zone of Cuba extends to within— 
(A) 52 miles of the Florida Keys at— 
(i) south of 24 degrees north latitude; 
and 
(ii) east of -81 degrees west longitude; 
and 
(B) 85.4 miles of the Florida peninsula 
at— 
(i) south of 24 degrees north latitude; 
and 
(ii) east of -81 degrees west longitude; 
(8) Cubapetroleo, the state oil company of 
Cuba, recently— 
(A) signed an oil production sharing agree-
ment with the China Petroleum and Chemical 
Corporation; and 
(B) purchased 3 deep-water drilling rigs 
from that Chinese state enterprise for use in 
the exclusive economic zone of Cuba; 
(9) the exclusive economic zone of Cuba in the 
Gulf of Mexico is a 112,000-square-kilometer area 
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that has been divided into 59 exploration blocks, 
each of which is approximately 2,000 square kilo-
meters and an average depth of 2,000 meters (ex-
cept that some of those blocks have a depth of as 
great as 4,000 meters); 
(10) the northernmost of the exploration blocks 
described in paragraph (9) are located off the south-
west coast of the State of Florida; 
(11) a United States Geological Survey report 
entitled ‘‘Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas 
Resources of the North Cuba Basin 2004’’ estimated 
that between 1,000,000,000 and 9,300,000,000 bar-
rels 
of 
undiscovered 
oil 
and 
between 
1,900,000,000,000 and 22,000,000,000,000 cubic 
feet of undiscovered natural gas along the northern 
coast of Cuba; 
(12) the national security strategy of the Presi-
dent recognizes the increasing resource needs of 
China by stating that China is ‘‘expanding trade, 
but acting as if they can somehow lock up energy 
supplies around the world or seek to direct markets 
rather than opening them up.’’; 
(13) the United States embargo on Cuba pro-
hibits United States companies from engaging in the 
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exploration or extraction of hydrocarbon resources 
from the exclusive economic zone of Cuba; 
(14) United States oil and gas industries are 
the world’s leaders in the efficient and environ-
mentally-safe extraction of oil and gas resources 
from marine deposits; and 
(15) it is in the energy, national security, and 
environmental interests of the United States that 
the oil and gas companies of the United States be 
permitted to operate in the foreign exclusive eco-
nomic zones that is contiguous to the exclusive eco-
nomic zone of the United States. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to permit 
United States companies to participate in the exploration 
for and the extraction of hydrocarbon resources from any 
portion of a foreign maritime exclusive economic zone that 
is contiguous to the exclusive economic zone of the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ACTIVITIES AND EXPORTS IN-
VOLVING 
HYDROCARBON 
RESOURCES 
BY 
UNITED STATES COMPANIES. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law (including a regulation), United States 
persons (including agents and affiliates of those persons) 
may— 
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(1) engage in any transaction necessary for the 
exploration for and extraction of hydrocarbon re-
sources from any portion of any foreign exclusive 
economic zone that is contiguous to the exclusive 
economic zone of the United States; and 
(2) export without license authority all equip-
ment necessary for the exploration for or extraction 
of hydrocarbon resources described in paragraph (1). 
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘United 
States person’’ means— 
(1) any United States citizen or alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence in the United 
States; and 
(2) any person other than an individual, if indi-
viduals described in paragraph (1) own or control at 
least 51 percent of the securities or other equity in-
terest in such person. 
SEC. 4. TRAVEL IN CONNECTION WITH AUTHORIZED HY-
DROCARBON EXPLORATION AND EXTRAC-
TION ACTIVITIES. 
Section 910 of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Ex-
port Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7209) is 
amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following: 
‘‘(c) GENERAL LICENSE AUTHORITY FOR TRAVEL- 
RELATED EXPENDITURES
BY PERSONS ENGAGING
IN 
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HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION AND EXTRACTION ACTIVI-
TIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall authorize under a general license the 
travel-related 
transactions 
listed 
in 
section 
515.560(c) of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, 
for travel to, from, or within Cuba in connection 
with exploration for, and the extraction of, hydro-
carbon resources in any part of a foreign maritime 
exclusive economic zone that is contiguous to the 
United States’ exclusive economic zone. 
‘‘(2) PERSONS AUTHORIZED.—Persons author-
ized to travel to Cuba under this section include full- 
time employees, executives, agents, and consultants 
of oil and gas producers, distributors, and ship-
pers.’’. 
Æ 
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