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Russia’s Zarubezhneft, a state-owned oil company specializing in exploration, development and operation of oil and gas fields outside Russia, has transitioned from pilot production to the exploitation phase of its Boca de Jaruco project in Cuba.
The Boca de Jaruco field produces extra-viscous, extra-heavy oil (natural bitumen) from carbonate deposits using thermal steam methods. Zarubezhneft has quadrupled its annual production over the past five years, while the stock of production wells has remained unchanged at seven wells.
Zarubezhneft commented that “Specific technological indicators of Boca de Jaruco have been brought to the level of leading global projects with bituminous oil reserves. The steam-oil ratio decreased 66% in 2024, from 10.3 to 3.6 t/t [tonnes of steam per tonne of oil]. Our catalytic aquathermolysis technology has increased production at individual wells 1.5-fold.”
The geological exploration work conducted by Zarubezhneft has allowed Cuba to register 200 million tonnes of geological reserves and 700 million tonnes of resources on the state balance sheet. Cuba has been suffering from energy shortages.
Zarubezhneft signed an agreement with the Cuban national company Cupet in June 2011 for pilot production, further exploration and the application of secondary methods at the Boca de Jaruco field to increase oil recovery. The agreement is valid for 25 years.
As at 2016, the volume of geological oil resources in the surrounding area was estimated at 3.7 billion tonnes, with Zarubezhneft now proceeding with full-scale development, involving the drilling of 30 new wells with investment of around US$108 million.
Cuba’s oil reserves are estimated to be around 124 million barrels of proven crude oil, with significant potential for undiscovered offshore deposits in the North Cuba Basin. Cuba’s annual oil consumption is approximately 150,000 barrels per day, with a significant portion imported from Venezuela. Helping extract Cuba’s own reserves will lessen the need for imports.
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