By Ayose Naranjo
HAVANA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Cuba's top energy official denied any link between the nation's communist-run government and shipments of Cuba-bound biodiesel seized in September by US authorities, rejecting US claims that the island nation was involved in those deals.
The US said last week that it had seized 90 separate shipments of biodiesel worth nearly $3 million under contracts involving a sanctioned Cuban state energy trader known as ENETEC, part of a crackdown on what the US alleges
are illegal shipments of fuel to the island.
Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy said he had no knowledge of any of the shipments intercepted by the US Department of Homeland Security.
"We can assure you that there was no contract of any kind with ENETEC S.A.," de la O Levy told Reuters in an exclusive interview at his Havana office. "No Cuban state-owned company has managed to secure a fuel contract, whether for small or large quantities."
The oil blockade imposed by the US — initiated following the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January — have vastly worsened Cuba's existing energy crisis. Fuel, water and electricity shortages, combined with soaring prices, have brought the island to the brink of a humanitarian crisis.
The US has since early this year allowed fuel exporters to ship gasoline and diesel to the island's nascent private sector but prohibits any such shipments to Cuba's government. Imports of fuel from US companies have soared in recent months but remain a fraction of what the island's economy needs, de la O Levy said.
“I would venture to say that the amount entering the country doesn't even cover 3% of its fuel needs,” he said.
Cuba and the United Nations have called US efforts to limit fuel shipments to Cuba "illegal" and contrary to international law.
The US has openly said it is seeking to topple Cuba's government.
COBALT AND NICKEL
De la O Levy said that the island government intends to remain in the business of nickel and cobalt mining, but that significant barriers remain to restarting production due to stiffened US sanctions.
Cuba is a top global producer of cobalt, according to the US Geological Survey, and has significant reserves of nickel, both essential in the production of batteries and automobiles.
Canada's Sherritt International Corp has for more than 30 years participated in a joint venture with the Cuban government at Cuba's largest mine, at Moa, but announced earlier this year that it would suspend operations due to US sanctions.
The Canadian mining company later said it had signed a non-binding agreement in May with Gillon Capital LLC, a Dallas-based development firm, to sell a stake in its Cuban mining business. Gillon's vice chairman is Ray Washburne, a longtime backer of US President Donald Trump.
De la O Levy said any purchase involving the joint venture would involve shares in the Canadian company, not a direct acquisition of the joint venture with the Cuban government.
"We have always made it clear that what the US company would be buying are shares in Sherritt, not in the joint venture," he stated. "The Canadian company is publicly traded, and any investor has the right to buy its shares."
Cuba said it would be willing to continue operating under the joint venture's existing rules should a deal be inked.
“But any restart would require discussions on how to supply fuel and spare parts, as well as how to handle payments for exports and production inputs,” de la O Levy said. “If the intention is to resume nickel production, all those issues would need to be resolved.”
Neither Sherritt nor Gillon immediately responded to a request for comment on the minister's statements.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
De la O Levy said Cuba was pushing ahead with its planned transition to renewable energy.
He said 144 solar farms with a combined capacity of 1,418 megawatts have been installed over the past several years, assuring baseline daytime production of electricity despite the US fuel blockade.
The island's domestic crude oil production remains stable, he said, but is almost entirely allocated to thermoelectric power plants.
Around 40% of Cuba's electricity comes from domestic oil.
Electric transport has also expanded, with the country now boasting over a million motorcycles and tricycles, while renewable energy sources have been installed at all of the country's small health clinics, maternity homes, nursing homes and funeral homes, he said.
"We are moving forward with our solutions little by little, though not as fast as we would like," the official stated.
(Reporting by Ayose Naranjo; Editing by Dave Sherwood and Mark Porter)
