Cuba’s national oil company announced August 6 that its latest oil exploration project failed to qualify as a commercial play . . . Cubapetroleo admitted that its joint venture with Malaysia’s Petronas (Bursa Malays: PTG) and Russia’s Gazprom Neft (MM: GAZP) to drill in Cuban waters in the Gulf of Mexico hit some gas and oil in this attempt, but not enough to extract hydrocarbons in great quantity . . . this is the third failed well in as many tries . . . Spain’s Repsol (Frankfurt: REP-FF) drilled an unsuccessful offshore well in May and may pull the plug on Cuba after spending $125 million there over 12 years . . . the country’s potential reserves may number in the billions of barrels but they are located in ultra-deep water, making extraction difficult . . . Cuba imports most crude from Venezuela . . . the latest failure may test the patience of foreign oil companies in Cuba and keep them from drilling again any time soon.