Cuba Turns to Russian Company for Help Revitalizing Oil Wells

Russia’s JSC Zarubezhneft and Union Cuba-Petroleo will work together with the aim of revitalizing non-producing oil wells on the island, Cuban state television said.

“Secondary recovery is a procedure employed by big oil companies around the world to exploit areas that ceased to yield crude oil or that are in decline,” the report said.

Both Zarubezhneft and Union Cuba-Petroleo, or Cupet, are state-controlled enterprises.

Specialists from the Russian company and Cupet are currently focusing their recovery effort in the Boca de Jaruco field in Mayabeque province, east of Havana.

The Boca de Jaruco 2001 well is yielding oil “in a fluid manner” and technicians are preparing to apply the same process to the Boca de Jaruco 2003 well, a Cupet technician told state television.

Personnel from Zarubezhneft explained that the process largely consists of injecting water, steam and other substances to maintain the pressure and push hydrocarbons toward the well-head.

The technique does not cause seismic disturbances, according to the Russian specialists, who said the process has boosted the yields of wells in Russia by as much as 300 percent.

Zarubezhneft and Cupet signed an accord in May 2914 to collaborate on oil exploration in the Caribbean island.

Cuba produces roughly 4 million tons of crude oil annually, enough to meet half of its needs, according to official data.