Cuban oil refinery output nearly doubled in 2008
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| Published on Saturday, June 27, 2009 |
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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Cuban oil refining nearly doubled in 2008 as a new joint venture refinery with Venezuela completed its first year of operations, producing mainly for export, a government report showed on Friday.
The National Statistics Office released energy-related data showing production of refined petroleum products was 5.46 million tonnes in 2008, compared with 2.3 million tonnes in 2007 (here).
The most significant increases reported were in gasoline production, which jumped from 392,000 tonnes in 2007 to 977,000 tonnes in 2008, and jet fuel, which went from 56,000 tonnes to 278,000 tonnes.
Diesel output surged from 464,000 tonnes in 2007 to just over a million tonnes last year while fuel oil increased from 940,000 tonnes to 2.7 million tonnes.
Cuba does not report oil and derivatives production in barrels.
The report did not cover oil and related exports, which according to a Foreign Trade Ministry report -- parts of which were seen by Reuters -- came in at approximately $880 million in 2008.
Cuba consumes around 160,000 barrels per day in petroleum products, more than 50 percent of which comes from regional energy giant Venezuela. The rest is pumped from the northwest coast along with natural gas for power generation.
Venezuela's state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) reported earlier this month that it delivered 115,000 bpd of crude and refined products to Cuba in 2008, of which 93,300 bpd were sold to Cuban state-run oil monopoly Cubapetroleo and 27,500 bpd was PDVSA's equity share delivered to the refinery in Cienfuegos, located 155 miles (250 km) southeast of Havana.
There are two other operating refineries in Cuba. The Nico Lopez in Havana and Hermanos Diaz in Santiago de Cuba, 540 miles (860 km) east of the capital.
The two refineries, with a maximum real capacity of around 65,000 bpd according to various industry sources, have processed 42,000 bpd of Venezuelan oil mixed with 20 percent Cuban heavy crude in recent years, almost exclusively for domestic use.
Venezuela is involved in upgrading both refineries, the Santiago refinery as another joint venture.
Under President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela has become a close ally of Cuba, which is an enthusiastic supporter of Chavez's regional integration proposal, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, aimed at countering US influence in the region.
As part of bilateral integration efforts, Venezuela is revitalizing Cuba's downstream operations and plans to use the island as a bridge to supply the Caribbean with crude and derivatives with preferential financing. | | | | Reads : 586 | | | |
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