Moscow says a second oil tanker will be on the way soon.
A shipment of Russian crude delivered to Cuba is expected to sustain the island’s electricity system and key economic activities for about 10 days, officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines told the Cuban News Agency.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, described as part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, began to unload Tuesday at the port of Matanzas in western Cuba. It carried some 740,000 barrels of crude.
State-owned company Cuba Petróleo, known as CUPET, said the fuel will be refined domestically to produce diesel, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline.
In a social media post, CUPET described the shipment as “solidarity support from the brotherly government and people of Russia” and said the 100,000 metric tons of crude would provide relief amid Cuba’s ongoing electricity crisis.
:anchor::ru: La ayuda solidaria del hermano gobierno y pueblo de #Rusia ya está en puerto cubano. Son 100 000 toneladas métricas de crudo que serán refinadas y que representan un alivio ante la compleja situación electroenergética que vive la nación. #Cuba pic.twitter.com/eiMjXquY0U— CUPET (@Cubapetroleo1) March 31, 2026
Digital outlet El Diario de Cuba reported that the level of public detail and media coverage surrounding the shipment is unusual, as CUPET rarely discloses information about fuel cargoes or their final destination.
According to official information, the first refined products are expected to be distributed in the second half of April, ACN reported.
Irenaldo Pérez Cardozo, CUPET’s deputy director, said initial output will be prioritized for distributed electricity generation and essential sectors.
Fuel oil will be supplied to floating power plants and thermoelectric facilities in Mariel and Moa, while liquefied petroleum gas will be allocated to critical services such as hospitals and residential institutions.
“The crude is of good quality and matches the characteristics of Cuba’s refining system, where there is already experience processing similar Russian cargoes,” Cardozo said. He said the liquefied gas will be directed primarily to essential institutions, such as hospitals.
Cardozo also said gasoline production would help ease current shortages, but he did not specify where it will be distributed. El Diario de Cuba reported that dollar-denominated service stations have had greater fuel availability, as the government has relied on those outlets to generate revenue amid the island’s shortages.
The shipment departed from the Russian port of Primorsk on March 9 and marked Cuba’s first oil delivery in three months. Since mid-2024, Cuba has faced a deepening energy crisis, compounded by tighter U.S. restrictions on the oil sector imposed earlier this year.
Jorge Piñón, a nonresident fellow at the University of Texas Energy Institute, told Martí Noticias that the crude is likely to be processed at Havana’s refinery, originally built by Exxon in the 1950s. He said refining could take between 15 and 20 days and yield about 250,000 barrels of diesel.
According to press reports, Cuba requires about 100,000 barrels of oil per day. Domestic production ranges between 40,000 and 45,000 barrels, primarily heavy crude extracted along the northern coast near Havana and Matanzas, which is used mainly for electricity generation at aging thermoelectric plants.
Without additional shipments in the near term, the island’s energy situation is expected to remain critical.
But Russia is preparing a second oil shipment to Cuba following the arrival of the Anatoly Kolodkin, Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev said Thursday during the International Electric Power Forum Energoprom-2026 in Kazan, about 500 miles east of Moscow.
“A Russian vessel broke the blockade; a second is being loaded at this moment. We will not leave the Cuban people in difficulty,” Tsivilev said. The Kremlin has framed the deliveries as humanitarian assistance.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow considers it its responsibility to support the island as fuel shortages continue to disrupt electricity generation and essential services.
“Russia believes it is its duty to provide the necessary assistance to the Cuban people, who need fuel to maintain the country’s essential systems,” Peskov said.
