U.S. Company to Send 250,000 Barrels of Fuel to Cuba

An American company is preparing to send a cargo of diesel and gasoline to Cuba in what, if successful, would be the biggest U.S. shipment of fuel to the island nation since the start of the U.S. embargo, Bloomberg reported.

Florida-based Vanguard Energy is already exporting gasoline and diesel to Cuba—exclusively working with private buyers. This time, the company is preparing a shipment of 100,000 barrels of gasoline and 150,000 barrels of diesel fuel for the energy-starved island that has been blockaded by the U.S. for several months now as the Trump administration seeks to topple the government.

The island nation has been suffering extensive blackouts as a result of the U.S. blockade. Washington earlier in the year offered to provide $100 million in what it called humanitarian aid, but only if “meaningful reforms to Cuba’s communist system” are implemented.

“The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical life-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement in May.

Earlier in the year, Russia sent two tankers to Cuba, one with crude oil and the other with diesel, which helped alleviate the severe energy shortages on the blockaded island. The vessels reached the Cuban coast despite the U.S. blockade, with President Trump acknowledging Cuba needed relief.

Another Russian tanker tried to reach Cuba carrying a cargo of 270,000 barrels of diesel, but two weeks ago, it apparently gave up and rerouted to Brazil, ZeroHedge reported at the end of May. The tanker was under European Union sanctions.

Cuba needs about 100,000 barrels of oil and petroleum products for a typical day’s demand. It can only source about 40% of that domestically, with the rest previously coming mostly from Venezuela and Mexico.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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