Russia and Cuba are preparing an intergovernmental agreement for the Russian company Rosneft to supply 1.64 million tons of oil and hydrocarbons annually to the island, the Cuban Prime Minister declared on Tuesday. Manuel Marrero Cruzduring a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin.
The head of the Cuban Government, who is on an official visit to Russia, commented that on Tuesday he spoke with directors of Rosneft, who informed him about the progress of the working group created to prepare the agreement between Havana and Moscow.
According to Marrero, this agreement seeks to guarantee a “stable supply” of oil to Cuba.
The Cuban Prime Minister stressed the validity and importance of this agreement for his country and acknowledged that Cuba is experiencing difficulties with the supply of fuel.
“At today’s prices, about $58 a barrel for Urals crude, the total value is about $676 million a year. How are you going to pay off this debt?”
Researcher Jorge Piñón, from the University of Texas, USA, informed 14ymedio that the amount of oil that Havana is negotiating with Moscow (1,640,000 tons) is equivalent to 32,000 barrels per day.
“This will cover Cuba’s 90,000 barrels a day shortfall, assuming Venezuela continues to deliver 57,000 barrels a day. At today’s prices, about $58 a barrel for Urals crude, the total value is about $676 million a year. How is this debt going to be paid?”
For his part, Mishustin, who is meeting with Marrero for the second time in the framework of his visit, stressed that Russia “regards the strengthening of friendship and association with Cuba as an unquestionable priority.”
The head of the Russian government added that the cooperation between Moscow and Havana “has passed the test of time and repeatedly demonstrated its stability in the face of external challenges,” among which he cited the economic sanctions of “unfriendly countries.”
Mishustin reported that both countries are working on the creation of a bilateral financial payment system and have begun to trade based on national currencies, the ruble and the Cuban peso.
They talked about cultural and humanitarian cooperation and the scholarship program for Cuban students, as well as the creation of a special school for teaching the Russian language in Cuba.
This same Tuesday, the Cuban prime minister met with the former Russian president and vice president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev, with whom they discussed bilateral cooperation, including the technical-military, transportation, industry and investment spheres.
In particular, they discussed cultural and humanitarian cooperation and the scholarship program for Cuban students, as well as the creation of a special school for teaching the Russian language in Cuba.
Marrero, who already served on the intergovernmental council of the post-Soviet Eurasian Economic Union and has held meetings with senior Russian officials, is scheduled to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this week.
In the midst of an unprecedented rapprochement, Havana bets on the “generosity” of Moscow, which has already sent several cargoes of hydrocarbons. The Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, had already promised Manuel Marrero last Wednesday “the execution of large joint projects” in the oil field.
In this regard, Piñón recalled in an interview with Radio Televisión Martí, last Wednesday, that Cuba lost a million barrels of storage during the fire in Matanzas and that, given the need to make space to store the 800,000 barrels of high-quality crude that arrived on the Island from Russia, it is likely that the cargoes of two of the tankers from Venezuela have been resold.
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