Spanish company to abandon Cuban oil well

HAVANA – An exploratory oil well off the northern coast of Cuba has proved a failure and will be capped and abandoned, Spanish company Repsol said Friday, a disappointment for a cash-strapped nation hoping for an economic lifeline.

Trial and error is par for the course in oil exploration, however, and analysts said the news is far from a death blow to Cuba’s petroleum dreams.

Repsol SA is evaluating the data it collected since the Scarabeo-9 rig arrived off the coast of Havana in January after a monthslong, round-the-world trek from construction sites in China and Singapore. The company has not yet decided whether to sink further wells in the area, spokesman Kristian Rix said.

Rix said four of every five offshore wells come up dry, and it’s too soon to determine whether other parts of Repsol’s exploration block are commercially viable.

Price hike drives GM from Super Bowl ads

DETROIT – For General Motors, the price isn’t right when it comes to an ad during next year’s Super Bowl.

The Detroit automaker said Friday that it won’t be advertising on the Feb. 3 spectacle because of a steep price hike demanded by CBS, the network broadcasting the game.

“We understand the reach the Super Bowl provides, but with the significant increase in price, we simply can’t justify the expense,” GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick said in a statement.

A person with knowledge of advertising costs said Friday that CBS wants 25 to 30 percent more for air time than NBC charged during this year’s game. Companies spent an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second commercial this year, meaning the increase would be at least $875,000 per ad. The person didn’t want to be identified because the ad prices have not been made public.

IRS approves split of Kraft Foods ventures

CHICAGO – Kraft Foods said Friday that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has approved a tax-free spinoff of its North American grocery business.

The Northfield, Ill.,-based packaged food giant plans to separate its domestic grocery and international snacks businesses, creating two independent public companies this year. The grocery company will remain in Northfield and retain the Kraft Foods name.

“This favorable tax ruling from the IRS is a significant milestone in the spinoff process,” Kraft CFO Dave Brearton said in a statement. “We remain firmly on track to launch two industry-leading companies before the end of 2012.”

Based on the ruling, Kraft Foods and stockholders should not be taxed for the stock distribution, which will take place as part of the spinoff, with the exception of cash received in lieu of fractional shares.

Kraft’s international snacks business will be based in Deerfield and is expected to be named Mondelez International.