Energy sovereignty: where the country is at this point

With the purpose of achieving energy sovereignty, the country is seeking for alternatives to boost domestic crude oil used in thermos power plants as well as the gas obtained from oil wells, in order to set out a favorable path in the National Grid (SEN).

A case in point is the recovery, by specialists from the Cuba-Petróleo Conglomerate (CUPET), of the Canasí well, the one with greatest gas production in Cuba, which was on a standstill and supplied between 450,000 and 500,000 cubic meters daily to Energás.

According to a report from the Cuban News Channel, this problem, at the time, represented about 60 megawatts (mw) that stopped being generated at the Puerto Escondido Power Plant. However, now, the well resumes its activity once a solution was found.

Likewise, projects for oil and gas drilling in the northern side of the western region stand out, in search of crude oil and concentrated gas reserves.

This purpose is evident in the largest horizontal drilling, in the Varadero 1012 well, regarded as a technological feat, whose drilling length exceeded 8,000 meters.

In addition, a new drilling will be carried out in the Varadero 1015 field, which is expected to reach a depth of 7,400 meters.

In this endeavor, another of the most accurate paths is the installation, until 2028, of 92 photovoltaic solar parks, with a generation capacity of 2,000 MW of power (over 20 MW each), for which the earthworks and corresponding studies are already being carried out.

Given that Cuba consumes eight million tons of fuel annually, and only produces three million, it is necessary to operate under the strategic principles of achieving sovereignty and replacing them with renewable energy sources.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff