MEXICO CITY, May 3 ― Mexico's state oil company Pemex exported about 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and refined products to Cuba in the second half of 2023 through a company it owns, according to a filing this week to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that his government would support Cuba however it can, and that the Communist-run island suffers from an inhumane and unjust blockade.
“Since July 2023, Gasolinas Bienestar ... our wholly-owned subsidiary, acquires crude oil and petroleum products from certain of our affiliates for export to the Republic of Cuba,” Pemex said in the filing.
The filing, which was first reported by Mexican newspaper El Universal, was published on Tuesday.
Between July and the end of December, Gasolinas Bienestar exported 16,800 bpd of crude and 3,300 bpd of refined products valued at 6.3 billion pesos (some RM1.89 billion), Pemex said in the filing.
Pemex did not provide details about these contracts or legislation referenced, nor did it respond to questions about whether exports have continued in 2024 or in what volumes ― although independent reports suggest that they have not stopped.
For months, the Pemex had denied that it was directly sending oil to Cuba, even through donations.
In an appearance before lawmakers in October 2023, Pemex CEO Octavio Romero said that the state company had not made “any donation of fuel to any foreign government” when asked about shipments to Cuba.
Romero did not mention in October whether there has been any economic compensation for the shipments to the island.
Pemex did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why Romero denied the fuel exports to Cuba in October.
Reuters has reported that oil shipments to Cuba began in April 2023.
The reported sales by Gasolinas Bienestar were made using peso-denominated contracts and valued at market prices, Pemex said. The company added in the report that it has “procedures in place to ensure such sales are carried out in compliance with applicable law.”
The Caribbean nation, crippled by US economic sanctions, has diversified its sources of oil imports in an attempt to alleviate fuel shortages, replenish inventories and reduce dependence on its largest supplier, according to vessels tracked by Reuters.
Venezuela remained its main supplier, while Mexico has emerged as a new provider, the data showed.
The deals come at a time when Pemex has struggled with its own production.
Its crude oil production in February hit its lowest monthly level in 45 years, as output remained far from the goals laid out by the outgoing president despite his support, including through capital injections and tax reduction. ― Reuters
