The Straits of FloridaThe Florida straits, the J-shaped channel between southeasternFlorida and theBahamas, and theFlorida Keys andCuba.
TheStraits of Florida,Florida Straits, orFlorida Strait (Spanish:Estrecho de Florida) is astrait located south-southeast of the North Americanmainland, generally accepted to be between theGulf of Mexico and theAtlantic Ocean, and between theFlorida Keys (U.S.) andCuba. It is 93 mi (150 km) wide at the narrowest point betweenKey West and the Cuban shore, and has been sounded to a depth of 6,000 feet (1,800 m).[1] The strait carries theFlorida Current, the beginning of theGulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico.
Five wells were drilled in state waters south of theFlorida Keys from 1947 to 1962.Gulf Oil drilled three wells in federal waters south of the Florida Keys in 1960 and 1961. All the wells were dry holes.
Cuba has three producingoffshore oil fields within 5 km of its north coast opposite Florida.[3] TheUS Geological Survey estimates that the North Cuba Basin contains 5,500,000,000 barrels (870,000,000 m3) of undiscovered petroleum liquids and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, almost all in the offshore part of the basin.[4]
The issue of allowing oil and gas exploration offshore Florida became a hotly contested topic in the 2008 US elections. In a column published 5 June 2008, syndicated columnistGeorge Will wrote that a Chinese oil company was then drilling inCuban waters 60 miles (97 km) from the Florida coast, a claim that was repeated by candidates in favor of offshore drilling.[5] In fact, no drilling was then taking place in that part of Cuban waters.
In 2004 the Spanish oil companyRepsol drilled in deep Cuban waters between Cuba and the Florida Keys, and found an oil deposit; the deposit was judged noncommercial, and the hole was plugged.[6] In October 2008, Cuba signed an agreement with theBrazilian state oil companyPetrobras, which provides for Petrobras to drill for oil and gas in deep waters off the north shore of Cuba.[7][8] In July 2009, Cuba signed an agreement with the Russian government giving the Russian oil companyZarubezhneft oil exploration rights off the north shore of Cuba.[9] By May 2011 Petrobras had withdrawn from the 2008 agreement due to poor prospects.[10]
In 2009 theFalkland Islands-registered company Bharat Petroleum Company Ltd. andNorwegian companyStatoil announced a joint venture to drill for oil inBahamian waters north of Cuba and southeast of Florida.[11][12] The government of the Bahamas has indicated that applications for offshore drilling are on hold pending negotiations with Cuba, the United States, and theTurks and Caicos Islands on the exact boundaries between their respectiveExclusive Economic Zones.[13]
TheGulf Stream is a significant ocean current, it transports an immense volume of seawater, along with heat, carbon, and various other oceanic elements. As a result, theGulf Stream plays a vital role in shaping weather and climate, affecting phenomena as diverse as sea level along Florida's coastline and temperature and precipitation patterns acrosscontinental Europe.[14] Recent studies have shown that climate variability in the tropical Pacific can influence theFlorida Current. Changes in equatorial Pacific wind and ocean conditions are transmitted through large-scale, ocean-atmosphere connections, shifting the transport strength of the current in the Straits of Florida.[15]The Gulf Stream has also been studied as a potentialrenewable energy resource. A thirty-year high-resolution simulation demonstrated consistent energy flow in the Straits, suggesting the region could be a site formarine energy research.[16] On shorter timescales, the current exhibits sub-seasonal variability. Wind stress and boundary interactions cause fluctuations over weeks to months, making transport measurements highly dynamic.[17] Despite this variability, long-term observations reveal remarkable stability. Over the past four decades, the Florida Current’s overall transport has remained steady, emphasizing its essential role in global ocean circulation.[18] Localized features such asmesoscale eddies also shape the Straits. A 2022 study documented a long-lasting cyclonic eddy that increasedprimary production and redistributed nutrient-rich waters, influencing both marine ecosystems and navigation.[19]
The swim across the strait was performed by AustralianSusie Maroney (withShark cage diving) in 1997 and AmericanDiana Nyad (without shark cage) in 2013.[20] Nyad, who was 64 years old at the time of the attempt, took 52 hours and 54 minutes to cover the 106 miles (171 km) betweenHavana andKey West[21] .
^Piecuch, C. G., & Beal, L. M. (2023). Robust weakening of the Gulf Stream during the past four decades observed in the Florida Straits. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2023GL105170.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL105170
^Dong, S., Volkov, D. L., Goni, G., Pujiana, K., Tagklis, F., & Baringer, M. (2022). Remote Impact of the Equatorial Pacific on Florida Current Transport. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(4).https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096944
^Park, K., Yang, Z., Haas, K., & Muglia, M. (2025). Characterization of Gulf Stream Energy resources: A 30-year high-resolution simulation study. Renewable Energyhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2025.123822
^Pujiana, K., Volkov, D. L., Dong, S., Goni, G., Baringer, M., Smith, R. H., & Garcia, R. (2023). Genesis of the Gulf Stream Subseasonal Variability in the Florida Straits. Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, 128(2).https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC018555
^Volkov, D. L., Smith, R. H., Garcia, R. F., Smeed, D. A., Moat, B. I., Johns, W. E., & Baringer, M. O. (2024). Florida current transport observations reveal four decades of steady state. Nature Communications, 15(1).https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51879-5
^Zhang, Y., Hu, C., Kourafalou, V. H., Liu, Y., McGillicuddy, D. J., Barnes, B. B., & Hummon, J. M. (2022). Physical Characteristics and Evolution of a Long-Lasting Mesoscale Cyclonic Eddy in the Straits of Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9.https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.779450
