May 29 (Reuters) - Mexico plans to resume oil shipments

to Cuba after a three-month pause, shipping data showed on

Wednesday, a move that could help ease power outages and

worsening fuel scarcity on the island.

Cuba desperately needs the fuel. Blackouts that were

occasional on the communist-run island have become routine in

recent months as the country struggles to get crude and fuel

from its largest suppliers, and logistical issues complicate

domestic fuel distribution to its antiquated power plants.

Mexico's state company Pemex since last year has

emerged as a new provider, the oil firm told the U.S. Securities

and Exchange Commission earlier this month, complementing

Venezuela's supply and sending light crude through a wholly

owned subsidiary on board Cuba's tanker fleet.

Cuba-flagged tanker Vilma this week arrived in Mexico's

Pajaritos anchorage and is waiting to load at that port, vessel

tracking data from financial firm LSEG showed. The latest oil

shipment from Mexico to Cuba was in February.

Since it began regular oil exports last year, Mexico through

February sent an average of 21,000 barrels per day (bpd) of

crude and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Cuba, according to

the data.

The shipments in the second half of last year were valued by

Pemex at some $400 million. Mexican President Andres Manuel

Lopez Obrador has said that his government would support Cuba

however it can, and that the nation suffers from an inhumane and

unjust blockade by the United States.

On its side, Venezuela's oil supply to Cuba fell to some

24,500 bpd in the first four months this year, compared to

almost 50,000 bpd in the same period of 2023.

Cuban officials have recently said that power outages are on

the rise due to ongoing fuel shortages, equipment malfunctions

at its obsolete oil-fired plants and problems transporting fuel

to high-demand areas.

The nation's power grid on Wednesday was running a deficit

equal to one-third of total demand, according to official data.

Long lines have become the norm again at gas stations.

The blackouts have recently plagued even the capital Havana,

long shielded from the worst of the outages, raising tensions in

the country's economic and population center.

Cuba requires about 125,000 bpd of fuels, including motor

gasoline, diesel and fuel oil for power generation, according to

the Office of Statistical Information. That volume compares to a

domestic oil output of about 40,000 bpd, which creates a

constant need for imports.

The government says U.S. sanctions have combined with an

increasingly acute economic crisis to bring the fuel shortfall

to a head.