14ymedio, Havana, July 6, 2023 — Fuel shipments from Venezuela to Cuba continue to increase. In June, according to the monthly report of the Reuters agency, they increased by almost 30%: from 58,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May to 75,000 bpd.
The main destination for Venezuelan oil, whose exports surpassed 700,000 bpd last month (an 8% increase from the previous month), was China, followed by Iran. On the other hand, exports to the United States through Chevron fell slightly, to about 134,000 bpd, from 150,000 bpd in May.
In total, 37 shipments left Venezuelan ports in June with 715,933 bpd of crude and refined products and 294,000 metric tons of petroleum derivatives, details Reuters.
As documented by the British news agency, the increase in fuel exports is due to the restart of a key processing unit, a “crude upgrader” operated by PDVSA and the Russian state company Roszarubezhneft, which converts extra-heavy crude into exportable grades and which was returned to service in mid-June six months after being damaged by fire.
Along with the Venezuelan oil, after the oil supply agreement with Russia, the Island began to receive oil from that country. Thus, the SCF Prime ship, with the Liberian flag and an approximate capacity of 530,000 barrels, arrived this Tuesday in Havana Bay from the port of Tuapse.
Through the maritime monitoring web pages, this newspaper followed the trajectory of the oil tanker from its departure from Tuapse, on June 3, until it reached the Cuban coast a month later, on July 4. The ship then disappeared from the radar and does not appear on the lists of ships anchored in any Cuban port.
However, the photographs captured this Tuesday by 14ymedio confirmed that the tanker is anchored in front of the capital’s refinery, although it is unknown if it will travel to other port terminals in the country.
The arrival of SCF Prime had also been announced by the academic and specialist from the University of Texas (USA) Jorge Piñón. A report on the movement of oil tankers traveling to the island – with both Cuban and foreign flags – offered by Piñón to this newspaper, indicated that fuel traffic through the island continues to increase.
Meanwhile, on June 17, the Mexican journalist Gerardo Aburto accused President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of “giving crude oil to the oppressive government of Cuba.”
An invoice, published by Aburto himself, shows how the state monopoly Pemex sold to Gasolineras del Bienestar — a government program to support state institutions and private initiative in Mexico — 350,000 barrels of Istmo oil (a variant of crude used to make gasoline), diesel, jet fuel and kerosene) to send them to the island. The document also includes the name of the Delsa tanker and the entity to which the fuel is delivered: Unión Cuba Petróleo (Cupet).
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