By AFP
June 10, 2023
The Mexican oil tanker Bicentenario is docked at the Nico Lopez oil refinery in Havana, on June 8, 2023 -
Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE
Moisés ÁVILA
With oil tankers docking from Mexico and Russia in recent days, Cuba could see its severe fuel shortage ease for the near future.
Since the end of March, endless lines of cars queuing for gasoline have been a common site on the Communist Party-ruled island, and service stations have created WhatsApp groups to organize customers.
Cuba, under US embargo, is going through its worst economic crisis in three decades. It only produces a third of the fuel it needs each day, while residents navigate blackouts and food shortages.
According to shipping tracker Vessel Finder, Mexican tanker Bicentenario, with an estimated cargo of 265,000 barrels of oil, arrived at the port of Havana on Tuesday. The ship was anchored at the Nico Lopez refinery in the capital, AFP confirmed.
At the end of May, Cameroonian-flagged supertanker Limo, en route from Russia, arrived at the port of Matanzas with some 800,000 barrels.
Vicente de la O Levy, minister of energy and mines, had in recent weeks declared “there will be a recovery” from fuel shortages, “and a decrease in uncomfortable queues.”
With a processing capacity of 22,000 barrels per day at the Havana refinery, the capital could be supplied for up to three weeks, said Jorge Pinon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environmental Program at the University of Texas.
– Looking for partners –
Tuesday’s arrival of the Bicentenario is the third such shipment this year, said Pinon. State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos did not respond to a request for comment.
Mexico, led by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is pursuing a policy of both pushing for an end to US sanctions on Cuba while also maintaining a dialogue with Washington and cordial hemispheric relations, said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Relations between Moscow and Havana, meanwhile, have intensified in recent months, with an uptick in bilateral projects and visits between senior officials.
But it can be difficult for Cuba to pay for the oil. Sometimes, countries ship the oil on credit, or in exchange for Cuban doctors coming to work in the country shipping the oil.
“Cuba does not have money and I doubt that it will pay for that oil,” said Pinon. “I assume that Mexico, instead of paying in cash for the shipment of Cuban doctors, is doing it with oil, as Venezuela does.”
– Chevron vs. Cuba –
Cuba has faced a multitude of fuel difficulties recently, including a fire at its main fuel storage center in Matanzas, and a drop in shipments from Venezuela, a regional ally.
Even with shipments from allies, the country often runs a deficit of at least 20,000 barrels a day, said Pinon.
The decision by Washington earlier this year to authorize US oil producer Chevron to expand production in sanctioned Venezuela and resume exports of its oil, is also hitting Cuba.
But if tensions between the United States and Venezuela can further ease — like they did last year to allow Chevron to strike a major deal in Venezuela — that could free up more oil that could make its way to Cuba, said Lopez Levy.
Getting the oil to consumers is another problem. Because Cuban refineries do not have the capacity to process untreated Venezuelan crude, the island’s government had to resell a shipment from Caracas last month because it couldn’t use it.
Moisés ÁVILA
With oil tankers docking from Mexico and Russia in recent days, Cuba could see its severe fuel shortage ease for the near future.
Since the end of March, endless lines of cars queuing for gasoline have been a common site on the Communist Party-ruled island, and service stations have created WhatsApp groups to organize customers.
Cuba, under US embargo, is going through its worst economic crisis in three decades. It only produces a third of the fuel it needs each day, while residents navigate blackouts and food shortages.
According to shipping tracker Vessel Finder, Mexican tanker Bicentenario, with an estimated cargo of 265,000 barrels of oil, arrived at the port of Havana on Tuesday. The ship was anchored at the Nico Lopez refinery in the capital, AFP confirmed.
At the end of May, Cameroonian-flagged supertanker Limo, en route from Russia, arrived at the port of Matanzas with some 800,000 barrels.
Vicente de la O Levy, minister of energy and mines, had in recent weeks declared “there will be a recovery” from fuel shortages, “and a decrease in uncomfortable queues.”
With a processing capacity of 22,000 barrels per day at the Havana refinery, the capital could be supplied for up to three weeks, said Jorge Pinon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environmental Program at the University of Texas.
– Looking for partners –
Tuesday’s arrival of the Bicentenario is the third such shipment this year, said Pinon. State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos did not respond to a request for comment.
Mexico, led by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is pursuing a policy of both pushing for an end to US sanctions on Cuba while also maintaining a dialogue with Washington and cordial hemispheric relations, said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Relations between Moscow and Havana, meanwhile, have intensified in recent months, with an uptick in bilateral projects and visits between senior officials.
But it can be difficult for Cuba to pay for the oil. Sometimes, countries ship the oil on credit, or in exchange for Cuban doctors coming to work in the country shipping the oil.
“Cuba does not have money and I doubt that it will pay for that oil,” said Pinon. “I assume that Mexico, instead of paying in cash for the shipment of Cuban doctors, is doing it with oil, as Venezuela does.”
– Chevron vs. Cuba –
Cuba has faced a multitude of fuel difficulties recently, including a fire at its main fuel storage center in Matanzas, and a drop in shipments from Venezuela, a regional ally.
Even with shipments from allies, the country often runs a deficit of at least 20,000 barrels a day, said Pinon.
The decision by Washington earlier this year to authorize US oil producer Chevron to expand production in sanctioned Venezuela and resume exports of its oil, is also hitting Cuba.
But if tensions between the United States and Venezuela can further ease — like they did last year to allow Chevron to strike a major deal in Venezuela — that could free up more oil that could make its way to Cuba, said Lopez Levy.
Getting the oil to consumers is another problem. Because Cuban refineries do not have the capacity to process untreated Venezuelan crude, the island’s government had to resell a shipment from Caracas last month because it couldn’t use it.
China operating intel unit in Cuba for years: US official
By AFP
June 10, 2023
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio speaks during a press conference to deny US press reports that Cuba has agreed to let China set up a spying base on the island
By AFP
June 10, 2023
Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio speaks during a press conference to deny US press reports that Cuba has agreed to let China set up a spying base on the island
- Copyright AFP Sergei SUPINSKY
China has been operating an intelligence unit in Cuba for years and upgraded it in 2019 in an effort to enhance its presence on the Caribbean island, a White House official said Saturday.
“This is well-documented in the intelligence record,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in confirming China’s intelligence presence.
US media in recent days had reported that Beijing was planning to set up a spy base on the island, which is located just off American shores.
When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, “we were briefed on a number of sensitive PRC efforts around the world to expand its overseas logistics, basing, and collection infrastructure globally,” the administration official said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
“This effort included the presence of PRC intelligence collection facilities in Cuba,” the official said. “In fact, the PRC conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019.”
The developments come as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed a rapid expansion of the country’s security presence around the world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to China next weekend, rescheduling a visit that was canceled in February after a tension-filled incident involving a suspected surveillance balloon passing over the United States.
A base in Cuba, which lies 90 miles (150 kilometers) off Florida’s southern tip, would present the most direct challenge yet to the continental United States.
China warned the United States Friday against “interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs,” in response to the media reports on a planned base.
When asked about the base at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he was “unaware of the situation” before criticizing US policy on Cuba.
“As we all know, spreading rumors and slander is a common tactic of the United States, and wantonly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is its patent,” said Wang.
The US official said the administration believes that diplomatic efforts “have slowed the PRC down” in developing its activities in Cuba.
“We think the PRC isn’t quite where they had hoped to be,” the official said.
Earlier this year, China sent what the US called a high-altitude surveillance balloon across the United States. It floated from west to east above sensitive military installations before it was shot down by a US fighter jet.
China has been operating an intelligence unit in Cuba for years and upgraded it in 2019 in an effort to enhance its presence on the Caribbean island, a White House official said Saturday.
“This is well-documented in the intelligence record,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in confirming China’s intelligence presence.
US media in recent days had reported that Beijing was planning to set up a spy base on the island, which is located just off American shores.
When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, “we were briefed on a number of sensitive PRC efforts around the world to expand its overseas logistics, basing, and collection infrastructure globally,” the administration official said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
“This effort included the presence of PRC intelligence collection facilities in Cuba,” the official said. “In fact, the PRC conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019.”
The developments come as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed a rapid expansion of the country’s security presence around the world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to China next weekend, rescheduling a visit that was canceled in February after a tension-filled incident involving a suspected surveillance balloon passing over the United States.
A base in Cuba, which lies 90 miles (150 kilometers) off Florida’s southern tip, would present the most direct challenge yet to the continental United States.
China warned the United States Friday against “interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs,” in response to the media reports on a planned base.
When asked about the base at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he was “unaware of the situation” before criticizing US policy on Cuba.
“As we all know, spreading rumors and slander is a common tactic of the United States, and wantonly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is its patent,” said Wang.
The US official said the administration believes that diplomatic efforts “have slowed the PRC down” in developing its activities in Cuba.
“We think the PRC isn’t quite where they had hoped to be,” the official said.
Earlier this year, China sent what the US called a high-altitude surveillance balloon across the United States. It floated from west to east above sensitive military installations before it was shot down by a US fighter jet.
No comments:
Post a Comment