Compared to the first half of 2024, the value of shipments grew by 6% to $289 million
14ymedio, Madrid, 16 September 2025 — A new report from Gasolinas Bienestar, the subsidiary used by the Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex to ship fuel to Cuba, certifies that crude exports to the island increased during Claudia Sheinbaum’s mandate compared to that of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
In the first half of 2025, the value of the oil increased by 6% over the same period last year, from 5 billion pesos (about US$ 272 million) to 5.3 billion pesos (US$ 289 million). Based on these data, it can be estimated that the total number of barrels was 3,257,800.
According to the document that the company must deliver this month to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which it is obliged to do as a listed company, the growth is due to crude oil, whose shipments increased by 2.8% in volume. In the first half of 2024, exports were quantified at 17,400 barrels per day (bpd), while in the same period of 2025, they rose to 17,900 bpd.
Meanwhile, derivatives declined, a trend already reflected in the first quarter data. From 1,800 bpd in 2024, it has risen to 1,700 bpd. In volume, “these sales represented 3.3% of total crude oil exports [from Pemex] and 1.8% of total exports of petroleum products, respectively,” the report said, according to the Mexican newspaper El Universal on Tuesday.
“The company emphasizes that “the sales of Gasolinas Bienestar are made through contracts denominated in pesos at the rates prevailing on the market”
“Bienestar is the intermediary for contracts denominated in pesos at prevailing market rates” and insists that it has “procedures to ensure that such sales are made in accordance with applicable law.” The clarification, which is noteworthy because Pemex tries to make it clear that it complies with U.S. legislation as far as the embargo on Cuba is concerned, repeats the word “sale” twice.
Since mid-2023, when Mexico started shipping fuel to Cuba, payments have remained a mystery. Initially the possibility of donations was contemplated, an extreme denied by the president of Pemex, although the statement of then chancellor Alicia Bárcenas on studying how to charge Cuba for the shipments generated doubts. Two years have passed, and it is still not known if the island receives oil as barter or as part of some triangulated agreement with Venezuela, which, for more than a year, has been in breach of the agreement to export at least 55,000 bpd to Cuba.
In Mexico, skepticism about the nature of these exports is high, not only because of an ideological issue but also because of the risk that it will lead to confrontation with the U.S., its main trading partner. In addition there is concern about the debts that are piling up for the State oil company.
“Anything that the Mexican government does against the interests that President Trump has put on the table is dangerous, because it can affect expectations or agreements that have already been achieved,” Ana Lilia Moreno, the Coordinator of the regulatory program in Mexico Evaluates, told El Universal.
The expert adds that it is a complex issue, because helping Cuba stay afloat may be considered necessary for the population, but the Government still does not guarantee human rights. “The problem is that the Cuban regime does not give in to the pressure of the people themselves and continues to repress them. For President Claudia Sheinbaum, it is difficult, but it can really have a serious impact. There is even talk that Cuba could not be paying for this entirely,” she says.
The newspaper has reviewed the total exports of Pemex and concludes that, although they have generally decreased, the volume destined for Cuba is increasing
The newspaper has reviewed the total exports of Pemex and concludes that, although they have generally decreased — almost by half in the first half of 2025 in comparison to the same period of 2020, with 628,000 bpd compared to 1,142,000 — the amount destined for Cuba is increasing, as is the value.
Gonzalo Monroy, director of the energy consultancy GMEC, who was also interviewed by the newspaper, says that this occurs at a time when the State has $23 billion in debt to suppliers and $98 billion in financial debt.
“Now, in Trump’s second term, the Mexican government must be careful with these operations, since they can’t conduct commercial relations with companies that are on the list of the embargo imposed by the United States,” he says
A peculiarity of this report is that Pemex announces that it will allocate 130 million pesos in financial investment to Gasolinas Bienestar.
The Mexican Organization against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI) has received different estimates from oil exports. Based on numerous ship movements between May and June, it puts the value of crude oil shipments to Cuba in the first half of 2025 at $850 million or more.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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