Cuba readies for first Russian oil shipment of the year as energy crisis deepens

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba is preparing to receive its first shipment of Russian oil this year, just days after the government announced it was operating on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants as severe power outages continue to hit an island whose power grid is crumbling.

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, Jorge Piñón, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute, told The Associated Press.

If so, that would mark the first time any oil shipment from any country reaches Cuba in the past three months given a US energy blockade.

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.”

Piñón said the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel -- enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

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.

He noted that Cuba consumes roughly 20,000 barrels of diesel per day, and that 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.

He said it would likely take four days for the Sea Horse to reach Cuba if that is indeed its destination.

Piñón 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 Matanzas, Cuba.

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