Cuba is preparing to receive its first shipment of Russian oil this year, a delivery that marks the first time any oil shipment from any country has reached the island in the past three months since a US energy blockade.
The anticipated shipment from Russia comes after the government announced it was operating on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants as severe power outages continue to cause blackouts in a nation with a crumbling power grid.
The Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin is some 3,000 nautical miles from Cuba in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to reach the island in 10 days, according to Jorge Piñón, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute.
The tanker is carrying 730,000 barrels of fuel and is on the list of vessels of its type sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine, Piñón said.
He added that it’s hard to determine how long that amount of fuel could sustain Cuba.
“We’re talking about crude oil that has to be refined into liquid fuels. Each product has its specific demand.”
The shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to meet Cuba’s daily needs for for nine to 10 days.
Second vessel bound for Havana
Another vessel, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, is also reportedly carrying Russian oil to Cuba, transporting approximately 200,000 barrels of diesel, Piñón said.
Analysts say Cuba consumes roughly 20,000 barrels of diesel per day and the Sea Horse’s cargo does not necessarily cover overall demand for diesel given the island’s low storage inventories.
Piñón believes the fuel will likely be used for “critical sectors of the economy,” like transportation and agriculture and it may likely take four days for the Seahorse to reach Cuba if that is its destination, according to Piñón.
The energy expert noted that the ship lingered for 20 days in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean before deciding to continue its west-southwestward journey. It is some 958 nautical miles from the Cuban port of Matanzas.
Worsening energy crises
Cuba produces barely 40% of its petroleum with the rest imported from Russia, Mexico and Venezuela.
But after the US attacked Venezuela in early January and arrested its then-leader, President Nicolás Maduro, a commercial ally of Cuba, vital shipments from the South American nation were suspended.
In late January, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. That month, Mexico halted its oil shipments to Cuba.
The situation has deepened Cuba’s energy and economic crises, leading to 10-hour blackouts, forcing a reduction in working hours and transportation, and leading to a drop in tourism, previously one of its main sources of income.
Additional sources • AP