Abstract: This paper compared the evolution and petroleum geological conditions of the foreland basin in northern Cuba and the basin in central Cuba based on the evolution history and paleogeography setting of the Cuba islands.The Meso-Cenozoic arc-continent collision of northern boundary of Caribbean Plate is thought to be the key factor controlling the oil and gas accumulation in Cuba.High quality source rocks were developed in Cuba islands and its surrounding platforms during the Late Jurassic rifting and the Cretaceous passive continental margin periods.The distribution of the source rocks was controlled by the paleogeography setting.The reservoir-cap rock assemblages were controlled by the collision between the Caribbean plate and North America plate in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene.The effective regional cap rock was an important condition for oil accumulation in the foreland basin of northern Cuba.At the end of Cretaceous, the thrust of the Caribbean Arc over the North America plate promoted the maturation of the source rocks.The large thrust fault zone and faults resulted from arc-continent collision provided the pathways for hydrocarbon migrating to and accumulating in the reservoirs such as the fractured Jurassic-Cretaceous carbonates, fractured volcanic rocks, pyroclastic rock and Paleocene sandstone, leading to the formation of structural, stratigraphic, lithological and composite reservoirs.

Key words: oil and gas distribution, fold thrust belt, plate boundary, Cuba