•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cuba’s Center for Petroleum Research (CEINPET) has developed “Termoconversión,” a thermal conversion technology designed to improve the properties of heavy and ultra-heavy crude oil, according to Granma. President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said at the April 2026 session of the National Innovation Council that Cuba has moved beyond the belief that its crude cannot be refined because of its density, viscosity, and sulfur content.
Díaz-Canel said the North Belt of Oil and Gas (NOB) is the backbone of Cuba’s energy output, accounting for more than 99% of the nation’s crude production. Covering about 750 square kilometers, the NOB has supplied heavy crude that has remained stable for decades and supports roughly 45,000 barrels of crude oil and 2.7 million cubic meters of gas per day.
USGS estimates for 2025 put technically recoverable resources in the NOB at 4,098 million barrels of oil and 375.7 billion cubic meters of gas.
Traditionally, Cuban crude has been treated as a technical challenge due to its high density, high viscosity, and heavy sulfur content. As a result, standard refining processes have been considered impractical, and crude has often been burned directly in power plants rather than refined into gasoline, diesel, or higher-value products.
CEINPET developed Termoconversión under the Cuban Petroleum Union (CUPET). Díaz-Canel said the technology is expected to refine heavy crude into higher-grade products.
As described by CUPET, the approach differs from blending crude with imported naphtha to reduce viscosity—a practice that has become no longer feasible due to supply cuts. Instead, Termoconversión uses controlled heat to break down the most complex hydrocarbons in crude, lowering viscosity without external diluents.
Engineer Irenaldo Pérez Cardoso, Deputy Director of CUPET, said the technology has been studied for years. The next step is to build a pilot plant at the Sergio Soto refinery in Cabiguán, Sancti Spíritus, where there is sufficient water, steam, power, and a skilled workforce to process this crude since 2010.
In parallel, engineers are addressing the lack of naphtha by processing a locally sourced crude with lower viscosity at the Hermanos Díaz refinery in Santiago de Cuba to test refining.
Initial tests produced commercial-grade diesel, naphtha suitable as a diluent to reduce viscosity, and industrial fuels. Those outputs are being evaluated for potential use in power plants and the nickel mining industry.
The broader objective is to achieve full self-reliance using domestic resources. CEINPET’s next phase aims to develop catalysts from laterite, an internal mineral resource, to reduce sulfur content in crude without importing materials—described as closing the loop with Cuba-made technology for Cuban use.
Díaz-Canel said energy solutions must be sovereign, grounded in science and innovation, and should leverage renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass alongside domestic crude. He added that the “surprising” point was not the scientific result itself, but that the research already existed and only needed to be properly connected to implementation.
Overall, the initiative points to Cuba’s effort to build a self-sufficient refining capability using domestic resources and Cuban technology, aiming to close a fully sovereign cycle.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
