Not legal, tax or investment advice, and not authorization for any transaction. U.S. sanctions (31 CFR Part 515) prohibit investment or equity in any Cuban business; nothing here is a determination that a transaction is lawful. Structure anything Cuba-facing only with qualified OFAC sanctions counsel and screen every party with QvaPay Sentinel.
Primary sources: OFAC Cuba Sanctions · 31 CFR Part 515 (CACR) · OFAC Cuba FAQs · Cuba Restricted List
CUPET — Cuba Petróleo Unión
aka CUPET, Cuba Petróleo
State oil & gas monopoly: refineries, the Matanzas supertanker base, onshore oil JVs. Counterparty to confiscated-refinery Title III exposure (Exxon/Belot).
- • OFAC SDN: Union Cuba-Petroleo (CUPET) (2026-06-11)
Assets controlled (6)
Matanzas Supertanker Base
Reconstruction remains slow four years after the 2022 fire, with four China-backed tanks unfinished and no firm timeline. In mid-September 2026 a fire broke out during maintenance on an empty tank; officials said it was quickly controlled with no casualties.
Boca de Jaruco / Varadero Oil Fields
EOR is the opportunity
Camilo Cienfuegos Oil Refinery
Modernization + feedstock opportunity
Port of Cienfuegos
Best natural deep harbor. Refinery reactivated in 2026 processing Russian crude but lacks a vacuum tower and catalytic cracker, so it yields low-value fuel oil for distributed generation. The pipeline to the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes power plant was extended from 3.3 km to over 4 km.
Belot Oil Refinery (Esso/Exxon)
ACTIVE Title III suit
Texaco Refinery (Santiago)
Confiscated 1960