*

Cuba's oil imports from Mexico are down 73% to some 5,000

bpd

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Imports from Venezuela fall almost 15% to some 27,000 bpd

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Power capacity to cover nearly a third of demand shut down

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Power cuts topping nine hours in Havana, some provinces

seeing

just two hours of electricity a day

By Marianna Parraga and Dave Sherwood

HAVANA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Cuba's imports of crude and

fuel in the first 10 months of the year fell more than a third

compared with the same period of 2024 as key allies Mexico and

Venezuela slashed supplies, according to shipping data and

documents seen by Reuters, preventing the Caribbean country from

easing daily power cuts.

The Communist-run island relies on imported refined products to

meet demand, including fuel oil and diesel for power generation,

and jet fuel and gasoline for transportation. U.S. sanctions and

a deep economic crisis have for years made it impossible for the

government to buy enough fuel, forcing a growing dependence on

allies.

Between January and October, Cuba's oil imports from Mexico -

which emerged as a reliable provider in 2023 after regularizing

shipments of light crude - declined to some 5,000 barrels per

day, a 73% fall from the 18,800 bpd received in the same period

of 2024, according to the shipping data.

Imports of crude and fuel from Venezuela, Cuba's most important

political ally, fell almost 15% over the same period to 27,400

bpd, with the reduction particularly hitting supplies of fuel

oil for power generation, internal documents from Venezuelan

state oil company PDVSA showed.

In total, Cuba's imports of crude, liquefied petroleum

gas and residual and motor fuels from all origins fell 35% to

some 45,400 bpd in January to October, from 69,400 bpd in the

same period last year.

Mexico and Venezuela are both dealing with output limitations

and do not have much spare capacity to offer Cuba. Their lower

availability of light crude and fuel oil for export, coupled

with Cuba's struggles to pay for purchases on the spot market,

have put a ceiling on fuel imports.

Russia, a supplier that has helped Cuba in past crises, has

only sent a couple cargoes of Urals crude this year, in line

with last year's supply, the data also showed.

PDVSA, Mexico's state oil company Pemex, and the information

ministries of Cuba and Venezuela did not reply to requests for

comment.

LONG CUTS REACH HAVANA

Cuba's government blames the fuel shortages, decrepit

infrastructure and damage from Hurricane Melissa for worsening

power outages, which are increasingly hitting the capital

Havana, the country's economic engine.

Almost 900 megawatts of power generation, nearly a third of

daily demand, was shut down on Wednesday due to lack of fuel and

lubricants, the country's electrical union said.

In Havana, unplanned power cuts sometimes top nine hours daily.

Many outlying provinces see just two to four hours of

electricity a day, vastly reducing productivity and complicating

daily life.

"The situation with the blackouts is awful, to say the least,"

said 18-year-old university student Daniela Castillo. "We arrive

home exhausted, there's no electricity, and many times we have

to wait for it to come back on - if it comes back on at all - so

that we can eat, so we can study...?"

LESS SPARE CAPACITY

A traditional heavy oil producer, Mexico's output of the Olmeca

light sweet crude that fits the Cuban refineries' diet is

typically reserved for well-paying international customers,

especially amid Pemex's reduction of overall crude exports.

Pemex's oil output fell almost 9% to 1.63 million bpd in January

to September, from some 1.79 million bpd in the same period of

2024, while crude exports suffered a 23% cut in that period to

604,000 bpd, official data showed.

Venezuela faces a similar situation. Numerous changes in U.S.

sanctions policies towards the OPEC producer have forced PDVSA

to supply more crude and feedstock to its own refineries,

limiting the volume and types of products PDVSA can export to

Cuba.

PDVSA has reduced output of the residual fuel oil Cuba

demands for power generation, internal company documents showed.

Flows are also being disrupted by a long-standing lack of

sufficient vessels to move oil supplies from Venezuela and

Mexico to Cuba, the data showed.