- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
Mexican and Russian oil shipments ease Cuban fuel crisis
With oil tankers docking from Mexico and Russia in recent days, Cuba could see its severe fuel shortage ease for the near future.
Since the end of March, endless lines of cars queuing for gasoline have been a common site on the Communist Party-ruled island, and service stations have created WhatsApp groups to organize customers.
Cuba, under US embargo, is going through its worst economic crisis in three decades. It only produces a third of the fuel it needs each day, while residents navigate blackouts and food shortages.
According to shipping tracker Vessel Finder, Mexican tanker Bicentenario, with an estimated cargo of 265,000 barrels of oil, arrived at the port of Havana on Tuesday. The ship was anchored at the Nico Lopez refinery in the capital, AFP confirmed.
At the end of May, Cameroonian-flagged supertanker Limo, en route from Russia, arrived at the port of Matanzas with some 800,000 barrels.
Vicente de la O Levy, minister of energy and mines, had in recent weeks declared "there will be a recovery" from fuel shortages, "and a decrease in uncomfortable queues."
With a processing capacity of 22,000 barrels per day at the Havana refinery, the capital could be supplied for up to three weeks, said Jorge Pinon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environmental Program at the University of Texas.
- Looking for partners -
Tuesday's arrival of the Bicentenario is the third such shipment this year, said Pinon. State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos did not respond to a request for comment.
Mexico, led by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is pursuing a policy of both pushing for an end to US sanctions on Cuba while also maintaining a dialogue with Washington and cordial hemispheric relations, said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Relations between Moscow and Havana, meanwhile, have intensified in recent months, with an uptick in bilateral projects and visits between senior officials.
But it can be difficult for Cuba to pay for the oil. Sometimes, countries ship the oil on credit, or in exchange for Cuban doctors coming to work in the country shipping the oil.
"Cuba does not have money and I doubt that it will pay for that oil," said Pinon. "I assume that Mexico, instead of paying in cash for the shipment of Cuban doctors, is doing it with oil, as Venezuela does."
- Chevron vs. Cuba -
Cuba has faced a multitude of fuel difficulties recently, including a fire at its main fuel storage center in Matanzas, and a drop in shipments from Venezuela, a regional ally.
Even with shipments from allies, the country often runs a deficit of at least 20,000 barrels a day, said Pinon.
The decision by Washington earlier this year to authorize US oil producer Chevron to expand production in sanctioned Venezuela and resume exports of its oil, is also hitting Cuba.
But if tensions between the United States and Venezuela can further ease -- like they did last year to allow Chevron to strike a major deal in Venezuela -- that could free up more oil that could make its way to Cuba, said Lopez Levy.
Getting the oil to consumers is another problem. Because Cuban refineries do not have the capacity to process untreated Venezuelan crude, the island's government had to resell a shipment from Caracas last month because it couldn't use it.
T.Morelli--CPN