Madrid/US President Donald Trump’s warning of cut off the supply of Venezuelan oil to Cuba –more than plausible after the capture of the president on January 3 Nicolás Maduro and his wifeCilia Flores – threatens to increase the problems of Sherritt International on the Island. The Canadian giant needs imported fuel to be able to work the nickel and cobalt mines that it operates in Moa, Holguín, and which, according to William Pitt, have been the economic base of that company.
“A company that was the best foreign investment Cuba has ever had,” observes this American businessman, whose family the regime expropriated multiple mining properties in 1960. As Pitt explains to 14ymedioalthough historically the power plants and gas wells associated with Sherritt, which works in cooperation with the state Energieshave produced “the most reliable and best managed energy services” in the country, this is no longer the case.
“Sherritt has lost so much money that it is undergoing a revolution among its shareholders in Canada,” asserts the American businessman, who refers to the recent replacement of Leon Binedell as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), just four years after his appointment, by “personnel from another competitive company.”
“Sherritt has lost so much money that it is experiencing a revolution among its shareholders in Canada”
As read in a Sherritt statement As of December 8, in his place, on an interim basis, is Peter Hancock, “an experienced executive in the mining industry, with more than 35 years of experience at Glencore plc, where he headed nickel mining operations and participated in the development and commercialization of process technologies.”
The corporate text is careful to criticize the outgoing Binedell, but hints that things have not been easy of late: “Since his appointment in June 2021, Mr. Binedell has guided Sherritt through one of the most challenging periods in its history, overseeing progress on several key strategic initiatives, including the expansion of the Moa joint venture, the implementation of the cobalt swap agreement, the optimization of the energy division and the completion of debt transactions and capital made at the beginning of this year.”
Precisely in its report last year, the Canadian multinational already warned of the risks of operating in Cubawhere blackouts, fuel shortages, natural disasters and the loss of workers threatened its profitability. In the second quarter of 2025, the company experienced multi-million dollar losses – down from $51.4 million in the same period last year to $43.7 million – a drastic reduction in production and significant cuts to its workforce in Canada, while operating conditions in Cuba deteriorated.
As Pitt remembers, without electricity, Cubans depend on gas for cooking.
Last year, they were several occasions in which the Energas and Sherritt plant in Boca de Jaruco (Mayabeque) was out of service due to a breakdown, seriously affecting the national electrical system (SEN). With a usual contribution of between 100 and 120 megawatts (MW), thermal energy is vital for the SEN. In fact, the two plants that the Canadian company operates in Cuba, Boca de Jaruco and Varadero (in Matanzas), have been key pieces in returning electricity to the Island in the various total system crashes which has suffered since the end of 2024.
Beyond that, as Pitt well remembers, without electricity, Cubans depend on gas for cooking. In most of the country, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sold through bulletsand in Havana, additionally, the natural gas that reaches the capital by pipeline from wells that are located to the eastnear Varadero, Puerto Escondido and Boca de Jaruco. The latter is produced entirely by Sherritt International, emphasizes the businessman.
Thus, what the Canadian suffers will be suffered by the people of Havana, especially the residents in the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución, Cerro, Centro Habana, La Habana Vieja, Diez de Octubre, Playa and Marianao. “Without gas bullets nor piped gas for cooking, and without electricity to cook in electric stoves, Cubans who have enough money will be able to cook with charcoal (if they can find it because there is not much), and if they cannot find charcoal or do not have money, with firewood,” concludes Pitt.
