Oil Drilling Activities Concluded in Cuba: Will Blackouts End?

Amid the tense situation Cuba is experiencing due to the fuel deficit and the daily blackouts, the Cuban government announced that the exploration and drilling activities of an oil well on the island have concluded.

The news, still developing and of which only some details are known at this time, leads us to imagine that perhaps with the completed works and the future operation of the well, the annoying electrical interruptions could be alleviated.

Considered a technological feat, the Varadero VDW-1012 well project is approximately 8047 meters long and is one of the longest and most complex drilled in the world, reaching a record in horizontal drilling, according to official sources.

The most significant technological challenge of this type faced by Cuban specialists was drilled in 546 days using specialized services and cutting-edge technology.

The well was designed by Cuban engineers from CUPET, and the execution process was carried out by the Union Cuba Petróleo and a team representing the Chinese company “Great Wall.”

It is located near Boca de Camarioca, in the municipality of Cárdenas, Matanzas, towards the sea, a region that, along with Havana, holds most of the country’s oil production.

According to the Cuban government, this part of the national territory contains “the largest deposit with geological reserves in the order of 10,000 million extractable barrels of good quality.“

It is estimated that the Varadero VDW-1012 well will begin its production stage in approximately one month.

The crude extracted from this well would be used in electricity generation at the country’s thermal power plants, a service severely affected by the fuel shortage.