Episode · Energy

Cuba Opened Oil & Gas Exploration to the Private Sector. What Can U.S. Sellers Supply?

A new law lets MIPYMEs and other private firms explore for and produce oil and gas under concessions. We set out what Cuban law lets them do, what U.S. law lets U.S. sellers supply them, and where the line falls.

Tim Parsa · Co-Founder & CCO, QvaPay · 20 October 2026 · 5 min read Subscribe

Fund flowsU.S. exports through Florida MIPYME business accounts

Cuba Opened Oil & Gas Exploration to the Private Sector. What Can U.S. Sellers Supply?

Why now

On 19 October Cuba’s new oil and gas law took effect. Decree-Law 135/2026 and Decree 184/2026 let MIPYMEs, larger private firms and non-agricultural cooperatives take part in oil and gas exploration and production, through concessions and production-sharing contracts [1][2]. Contractors recover their costs from up to 65% of gross production on land and in shallow water, and up to 75% in deep water. The rest is split with the state [1].

A Cuban firm with a concession will want rigs, pumps and well equipment, and U.S. makers build some of the best. Cuban law now lets the firm buy them, but U.S. law decides whether a U.S. company may sell them.

Cuban law, U.S. law, and what is left

Activity	Cuban law	U.S. law	What the Cuban firm can do
Hold an oil or gas concession	Allowed for MIPYMEs, through tenders and with government approval [1][2]	No U.S. person may invest in it (§ 515.201) [12]. CUPET, the state oil company, is on OFAC’s SDN List [5]. A non-U.S. person operating in Cuba’s energy sector risks designation under E.O. 14404 [9]	Bid under Cuban law, with no U.S. partner or U.S. money, and at its own sanctions risk
Buy U.S. drilling and well equipment for the concession	Allowed	Not authorized. License Exception SCP excludes items used to primarily generate revenue for the state [4]. A BIS license meets a general policy of denial [8]	Nothing, from a U.S. seller or through QvaPay
Buy U.S. fuel for its own business	Allowed. Private firms already import U.S. fuel [1]	Allowed under SCP § 740.21(b)(1), as BIS confirmed on 4 March 2026, if no Cuban-owned bank receives the money [3][4]	Buy it and pay the U.S. seller from its QvaPay business account [6][7]
Buy U.S. solar, batteries, inverters or generators for its own power	Allowed. Solar systems pay no Cuban import duty through 2027 [10]	Allowed under SCP § 740.21(b)(1), for items that are EAR99 or controlled only for anti-terrorism reasons [4]	Buy it on one of the three permitted routes [11]

What U.S. exporters can still sell these firms

Sell power equipment. Solar panels, batteries, inverters and generators for a private firm’s own power, when the items are EAR99 or controlled only for anti-terrorism reasons [4].
Sell fuel for the firm’s own operations. Gasoline and diesel to a Cuban private business for its own economic activity, under SCP [3][4]. The money may not be deposited in a Cuban-owned bank [3], and the fuel may not move through CUPET or its facilities [5].
Sell other inputs for private business. Tools, parts and equipment for the firm’s own private economic activity, on the same SCP terms [4].

What U.S. exporters cannot do

Equip a concession. Rigs, well equipment, oilfield pumps and services for oil or gas extraction. SCP does not cover items used to primarily generate revenue for the state, and the state takes its share of the oil [1][4].
Count on a license. Cuba’s export licensing policy is a general policy of denial. BIS says it generally denies items for state enterprises that extract minerals or other raw materials, and the case-by-case licenses it grants usually bar uses that primarily generate revenue for the state [8].
Deal with CUPET. That rules out CUPET as partner, buyer, operator, terminal or tank farm. CUPET has been on the SDN List since 11 June 2026 [5].
Invest. No general license lets a U.S. person take a stake in a Cuban concession [12].

Where QvaPay fits

The flowFuel and power equipment only. The Cuban firm pays from its QvaPay business account. QvaPay wires dollars from its U.S. bank to the U.S. seller’s U.S. account against the FOB/FCA Port Everglades invoice in the firm’s name, the export authorization and the EEI. That payment is incident to an export authorized under § 515.533 (QvaPay’s reading of § 515.421 and OFAC FAQ 756) [6][7]. QvaPort (in formation) will consolidate in Florida.

Who it servesCuban private firms that need power and fuel for their own operations, and the U.S. sellers who supply them.

NeverNo payment for drilling or well equipment for a concession, no CUPET party or facility, no Cuban bank.

Fees: QvaPay Payments 2.5% on U.S.-made goods and 5% on foreign-made goods sold from U.S. stock; QvaPort Logistics 5% when QvaPort consolidates. Freight and Cuban port charges are paid in CUP, outside QvaPay [11].

What would change the answer

It would take a specific BIS license with an OFAC authorization for the transaction, or a change in U.S. policy toward Cuban energy. Until then, a private oil concession is a Cuban-law opportunity that U.S. sellers cannot equip, while fuel and power for private business is open now. Learn more: What a Cuban private business can and cannot do with QvaPay · How to sell to Cuba’s private sector from Florida

Not legal advice. Confirm your structure with OFAC and export-control counsel.

Sources

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