Recent Trends in Cuba’s Mining and Petroleum Industries

On December 17, 2014, President Obama announced that 

the United States would begin discussions to restore diplomatic 

relations with the Government of Cuba and embark on a 

longer term process of normalization of relations between the 

two countries. The U.S. Government had officially severed 

diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 in response to political 

changes after the Cuban Revolution. In 1962, President Kennedy 

declared an embargo on all trade between the United States and 

Cuba, which was implemented through regulations published 

in 1963.

On January 15, 2015, the U.S. Departments of Commerce 

and the Treasury published regulatory amendments to the Cuba 

sanctions (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2015) in accordance 

with President Obama’s December 2014 policy announcement 

(The White House, 2014). These measures made changes in the 

implementation of the embargo but did not lift the embargo. 

Most transactions involving Cuba, including private and public 

investment in mineral production, continue to be prohibited. This 

Fact Sheet provides information regarding the current supply of 

and demand for mineral commodities produced in Cuba (fig.1).

Figure 1. Mines, mineral processing facilities, and petroleum facilities in Cuba in 2014. Information on individual facilities (1–28), 

including operational status, is shown in table 1. The term “in development” includes all operational statuses provided in table 1 

except active and suspended.

86° 84° 82° 80° 78° 76° 74°

24°

22°

20°

18°

SANTIAGO

DE CUBA

USA

THE BAHAMAS

JAMAICA

HAITI

CUBA

Maritime boundaries and Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration data as of November 2014; political boundaries are not necessarily authoritative and are 

derived from Esri and open-source shapefiles; Mercator projection, datum is World Geodetic System of 1984

0 100 200 300 KILOMETERS

0 50 100 150 MILES

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA (USA)

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Gulf of Mexico

Caribbean Sea

CUBA

Map area

CAYMAN ISLANDS

(United Kingdom)

MEXICO

EXPLANATION

Facility type and status—See table 1 for more information

Active or suspended nonpetroleum mineral facility

Nonpetroleum mineral facility in development

Active petroleum facility

Petroleum facility in development

Petroleum leasing concession area—

 Derived from data by Jorge Piñon,

 University of Miami Center for

 Hemispheric Policy

Cuban Exclusive Economic Zone

North Cuba basin

Boundary of eastern gap area

U.S. 12-nautical-mile territorial sea

U.S. 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone

LA HABANA

17

12

10

21

^

ARTEMISA

U.S. Naval Station

Guantánamo Bay

28

6

Havana

27

24

13

14

15 17

16

18

26

CIENFUEGOS

21

10

9

2 3

CAMAGÜEY

MATANZAS

HOLGUÍN

GRANMA

PINAR

DEL RÍO

VILLA

CLARA

LAS TUNAS

MAYABEQUE

CIEGO

DE

ÁVILA

GUANTÁNAMO

SANCTI

SPÍRITUS ISLA DE LA

JUVENTUD

1,4

23

22

20

25

7

5

19

12

11 8

N

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2015–3032

March 2015
Background

In 2014, Cuba had a population of more than 11 million 

people and a land area of about 111,000 square kilometers, 

which is comparable to the population and land area of the 

U.S. State of Ohio. In 2010 (the latest year for which data were 

available), Cuba’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) at 

purchasing power parity was $10,200; this amount was three 

times less than that of Mississippi, which was the U.S. State 

with the lowest per capita GDP (United Nations Economic 

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2014; 

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, [2014]).

In 2013, Cuba was estimated to be among the world’s 

top 10 producers of cobalt and nickel, which are the country’s 

leading mineral exports. Cuba exports ammonia, nitrogenous 

fertilizer, and zeolites to Europe and to other Latin America and 

Caribbean (LAC) nations, but most other mineral commodities 

are consumed domestically. Production at most mineral 

processing facilities is significantly below those facilities’ 

design capacities, and the quantity of output is not sufficient 

to support an export market (Kuck, 2014; Shedd, 2014; 

Soto-Viruet, Country Specialist, U.S. Geological Survey, 

unpub. data, February 2014).

About one-third of Cuba’s domestic petroleum demand 

is met by near-offshore and onshore production of extra heavy 

crude oil. Since at least 2007, the remaining two-thirds of Cuba’s 

petroleum demand has been met by imports from Venezuela. 

There is currently no deepwater production of hydrocarbons.

Cuba’s Mineral Resources and Production Facilities

Cuba hosts a variety of fuel and non-fuel mineral resources 

in complex geologic terranes. Its mineral endowment includes 

chromite deposits in preserved fragments of oceanic crust 

known as ophiolites, and laterite soils that developed on top of 

the ophiolites; these laterite soils contain the country’s most 

significant reserves of cobalt and nickel. In addition to cobalt 

and nickel, Cuba’s metallic mineral resources include copper 

and zinc in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits, copper in 

porphyry deposits, iron in laterite and skarn deposits, precious 

metals in epithermal deposits, manganese oxide in strata-bound 

deposits, and tungsten in vein deposits. The country’s industrial 

mineral resources include currently mined, volcanically derived 

bentonite, feldspar, and high-purity zeolite minerals, as well 

as gypsum, kaolin, lime, high-grade limestone, marble, and 

sand from carbonate terranes. Manufactured industrial mineral 

products include ammonia, cement, sulfuric acid, steel, and urea. 

The leading mines, mineral processing facilities, and hydrocarbon concessions in Cuba are shown in figure 1 and table 1.

Hydrocarbons produced in Cuba include natural gas, 

crude oil, and refinery products. Most Cuban hydrocarbon 

production comes from structural traps in carbonate reservoirs 

located both onshore and offshore in the North Cuba fold and 

thrust belt, although hydrocarbon seeps have been reported in 

every Province in Cuba. Current petroleum production in Cuba 

is centered east of Havana along the northern coastlines of 

the Provinces of Matanzas and Mayabeque, mostly at Sherritt 

International Corp. of Canada’s three near-offshore facilities at 

Puerto Escondido, Varadero West, and Yumuri (fig. 1; table 1). 

The country’s largest capacity refinery is the Ñico López 

refinery in Havana, which processes both domestic and imported 

petroleum. The second largest capacity refinery, the Cienfuegos 

refinery, processes only Venezuelan crude oil (Nerurkar and 

Sullivan, 2011; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2013).

Historical Perspective on Cuba’s Mineral Industries

Prior to the embargo in 1962, the U.S. Government 

offered financial incentives to private U.S. investors in Cuba 

that resulted in U.S. ownership of most Cuban utilities, and 

branches of U.S. banks held one-fourth of all bank deposits in 

Cuba. U.S. companies had large holdings in Cuban mining and 

hydrocarbon assets, including the Moa Bay nickel operation, 

and U.S. petroleum companies operated several refineries in 

Cuba. In the early 1900s, geologists from the United States 

documented Cuba’s resources of minerals, such as its resources 

of chromium, iron ore, and manganese, and during World War 

I and World War II, U.S. geologists performed investigations 

into the island’s strategic minerals (Hayes and others, 1901; 

Burchard, 1919; Park, 1942; Page and McAllister, 1944; Guild, 

1947). From 1916 to 1940, the United States imported more than 

720,000 metric tons of chromite ore from Cuba (Thayer, 1942).

After the Cuban Revolution, however, the Cuban 

Government reversed its policies toward foreign-owned and (or) 

-operated companies and passed legislation to cancel most 

foreign mining and petroleum claims. The Government of 

Cuba established trade agreements with the Union of Soviet 

Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), prompting U.S. companies to 

halt operations at their Cuban petroleum refineries owing to 

Cold War tensions between the United States and U.S.S.R. 

Subsequently, Cuba nationalized its petroleum refineries, 

expropriated U.S. property held within its territory, and began 

to develop its mineral industry independently. When the 

U.S.S.R. was dissolved in 1991, Cuba’s economic growth 

plummeted and the mining industry suffered from a lack of 

investment. In 1958, Cuba had been the 3d-ranked nickel 

producing country in the world, but by 1963, it was ranked 

6th, and in 2001, nickel production ceased. Cuba was the 

world’s 8th-ranked chromite producer in 1958, but its ranking 

decreased to 12th by 1963, and chromite production also ceased 

in 2001. In 1959, Cuba accounted for 4% of the world’s copper 

production, but since 2007, no copper production in Cuba has 

been reported (Johnson, 1964; Copeland and others, 2011).

In 2004, the USGS released an assessment of the North 

Cuba basin and its three subbasins. The assessment area 

covered the northern one-half of the island and the portion 

of Cuba’s maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that 

extends into the Gulf of Mexico to the north, northwest, and 

west of the island (fig. 1). The total amount of undiscovered 

technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources was estimated 

to be 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 4.6 billion barrels 

of crude oil, and 0.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2004). About 70% of this oil was 

estimated to be located no more than 50 to 80 kilometers (km) 

offshore along the length of the western and northern coasts of 

the island. Petroleum leasing concession areas within Cuba’s 

maritime EEZ (fig. 1) have been claimed by such companies as 

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Brazil), Petroliam Nasional Berhad 

(Malaysia), JSC Zarubezhneft (Russia), Repsol S.A. (Spain), 

and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (Venezuela) (U.S. Energy 

Information Administration, 2013).
Table 1. Mines, mineral processing facilities, and petroleum facilities in Cuba in 2014. 

[The location of each facility is shown in figure 1. Location and distance information is based on publicly available information and may be approximate for some 

sites. Operational status: A, active production; E, exploration; N, negotiations; P, planned; S, suspended; UC, under construction. NA, not available]

Label on

figure 1 Commodity Facility name (if available) or facility description Operator/ownership Location Operational status

1 Ammonia Revolución de Octobre 

plant

NA Nuevitas, Camagüey Province A

2 Ammonia and urea Calicito ammonia plant Cuvenpeq S.A. Calicito, Cienfuegos Province P

3 Cement Cienfuegos cement plant Cementos Cienfuegos S.A.

(Government, 50%; Holcim Ltd., 50%)

Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Province A

4 Nuevitas cement plant Fábrica de Cemento 26 de julio Nuevitas, Camagüey Province A

5 Artemisa cement plant Fábrica de Cemento Mártires de Artemisa Artemisa, Artemisa Province A

6 Mariel cement plant Cementos Curazao N.V. Barrio Mujica, Mariel, 

Artemisa Province

A

7 Siguaney cement plant Fábrica de Cemento Siguaney Siguaney, Sancti Spíritus Province A

8 Nickel-cobalt Ernesto Che Guevara Mine 

and processing plant

Empresa Niquelífera Ernesto Che Guevara 

(Government, 100%)

Punta Gorda, Holguín Province A

9 Moa Bay Mine and 

processing plant

Moa Nickel S.A. (Government, 50%;

 Sherritt International Corp., 50%)

Moa, Holguín Province A

10 René Ramos Latour Mine 

and processing plant

Empresa Niquelífera Comandante 

René Ramos Latour (Government, 100%)

Nicaro, Holguín Province S

11 Las Camariocas Mine and 

processing plant

Empresa Mixta Ferroniquel S.A. 

(Cubaniquel, 50%; Government

of Venezuela, 50%)

Cupey, Holguín Province UC

12 Lead-zinc Castellanos and Santa 

Lucia plant

NA Near Santa Lucia, Pinar del Rio 

Province

UC

13 Petroleum (crude) Northern coast operations Empresa de Perforación y Extracción de 

Petróleo del Centro

Northern coast between Havana 

and Cardenas, primarily in 

Mayabeque Province

A

14 Puerto Escondido, 

Varadero West, and 

Yumuri operations

Sherritt International Corp. (gross 

working interests of 40‒100% in 

various production-sharing contracts 

with the Government)

Puerto Escondido, Varadero West, 

and Yumuri

A

15, 16 Block 8A (offshore) and 

Block 10 (onshore)

Sherritt International Corp. (productionsharing contract with the Government)Northern coasts of Mayabeque and 

Matanzas Provinces

E

17 Block 9 (onshore) MEO Australia Ltd. (100% in a production 

sharing contract with the Government)

North of Colón, Matanzas Province N

18 Petroleum (refinery 

products)

Cienfuegos refinery PDV–Cupet S.A. (Government, 51%; 

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, 49%)

Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos Province A

19 Hermanos Díaz refinery Government, 100% Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de 

Cuba Province

A

20 Ñico López refinery Government, 100% City of Havana A

21 Sergio Soto refinery Government, 100% Cabaiguan, Sancti Spíritus 

Province

A

22 Sand Algaba quarry NA Near Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus 

Province

A

23 Cajobabo operations NA Imias, Guantánamo Province A

24 Steel products Cotorro steel mill Antillana de Acero, Grupo Metalúrgico 

Acinox (Government, 100%)

Cotorro, La Habana Province A

25 Las Tunas steel mill Empresa de Aceros Inoxidables, 

Grupo Metalúrgico Acinox 

(Government, 100%)

Las Tunas, Las Tunas Province A

26 Zeolites Tasajeras plant Empresa Geominera Holguín Villa Clara Province A

27 El Chorillo plant Empresa Geominera Holguín Camagüey Province A

28 San Andrés plant Empresa Geominera Holguín Holguín Province A
Recent Developments in Cuba’s Mineral Industries

Cuba’s current crude oil and associated natural gas 

production from onshore and shallow water coastal reservoirs 

is approximately 50,000 barrels per day of liquids and about 

20,000 barrels per day oil equivalent of natural gas. Venezuela 

is a business partner in most of Cuba’s downstream petroleum 

industry through the joint venture (JV) Cuvenpetrol S.A. 

In 2010, China won a bid from the Government of Cuba to 

construct a refinery at Matanzas and upgrade the receiving 

terminal that processes and stores shipments of crude oil 

from Venezuela, but as of yearend 2014, no known start 

date had been announced. A Soviet-built petroleum pipeline 

connecting the Matanzas production fields to the Cienfuegos 

refinery has not been operational since initial performance 

tests were conducted in 1991. In 2011, Cuba’s hydrocarbon 

imports included refinery products (which accounted for 

about 60% of total hydrocarbon imports) and crude petroleum 

(about 40%) (Nerurkar and Sullivan, 2011; Jorge Piñon, 2015, 

written commun.). 

As of 2015, deepwater drilling by such foreign companies 

as Repsol S.A. of Spain and JSC Zarubezhneft of Russia has 

resulted in no discovery of commercial quantities of oil or 

gas. The country’s extreme northwestern maritime boundary 

with the United States and Mexico — an area referred to as 

the eastern gap— remains to be legally delimited. The current 

claim nearest to this area is located approximately 150 km to 

the southeast, although no exploratory drilling has yet taken 

place in the westernmost portions of Cuba’s EEZ (fig. 1). This 

area is beyond the U.S. EEZ but is in waters determined to be 

within the U.S. extended continental shelf and is potentially 

able to be leased for development of seabed mineral resources 

(U.S. Department of State, [2014]).

In 2010, Ferroníquel S.A. (a joint venture between 

Cubaniquel and the Government of Venezuela) began work to 

complete construction and commence ferronickel production 

at the Las Camariocas project in Cupey. Construction of the 

plant at Las Camariocas started in the 1980s but was only 

about two-thirds complete when its financing was lost with 

the breakup of the U.S.S.R. Startup of the plant had been 

expected in 2013, but no information indicating progress on 

the project was available at that time. Since at least 2010, the 

Government of Cuba has been seeking to expand the country’s 

capacity to produce ammonia and urea. Construction at 

several projects, including an ammonia and urea production 

facility at Calicito in Cienfuegos Province announced in 2010 

by Cuvenpeq S.A., has yet to begin (Apodaca, 2011). The 

Revolución de Octobre plant in Nuevitas reported production 

of 65,000 metric tons of nitrogenous fertilizer and ammonium 

nitrate production at yearend 2014, with the majority of the 

ammonium nitrate intended for export (Cuban News Agency, 

2014). Cuba has imported an average of 8,000 metric tons per 

year of ammonia and phosphatic fertilizers from countries in 

North Africa, including Egypt, Libya, and Morocco, from 2010 

through 2013. Lime was produced at seven small commercial 

plants throughout the country using outdated technology and 

very limited automation of production processes. Exports 

of zeolites have been reported since at least 2006; in 2013, 

an estimated 4,500 metric tons of zeolite were exported to 

Europe and Latin American countries.

Foreign Direct Investment Trends in Cuba

Cuba’s real GDP was $70 billion in 2013, which was 

relatively low compared with larger LAC economies, but greater 

than LAC countries of similar area, GDP, and (or) population, 

including Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. 

Among these countries, Cuba had the highest GDP each year 

from 1990 through 2013 (fig. 2). The Government of Cuba passed 

law No. 77 (Foreign Investment Act) in 1995, which allows 

for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. Economic 

growth rebounded as a result of this change and followed a 

positive trajectory similar to that of the other small economy 

countries in the region. Excluding Bolivia, mining and quarrying 

activities of the smaller countries in the region accounted for 

less than 3% of their GDP, and manufacturing decreased overall 

in each country from 1990 to 2013 (fig. 3). Economic growth 

remained constrained in Cuba owing partly to the limitations of 

its small economy, but even more so to Government controls on 

FDI, pricing, and the labor market (United Nations Economic 

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2014).

The leading sectors to receive FDI in Cuba have been 

agriculture, natural resources, and tourism. From 1990 through 

2009, Cuba received about $3.5 billion in FDI, of which 86% 

was received from only 20 of about 250 foreign investors. In the 

1990s, the Government of Cuba granted foreign partners majority 

control, but starting in 2011, the Government has sought a 51% 

or more share in joint ventures. In Cuba, law No. 77 allows for 

100% foreign ownership of businesses, but as of 2011, only six 

wholly foreign-owned firms were operating in the country. The 

average maximum share of foreign ownership allowed in mining 

and oil and gas for LAC countries as of 2010 was about 96% and 

86%, respectively. In Cuba, foreign joint venture investors are 

granted dominant market shares and the Government restricts 

competition and profit margins. Also, FDI firms in Cuba must 

pay wages to an employment agency in hard currency, but the 

agency compensates workers in local currency, which essentially 

devalues the wages by as much as 90% (Feinberg, 2012). 

From 1990 through 1999, the mining sector was the 

2d-ranked sector for FDI, receiving on average 15% to 20% 

of the total. Europe was Cuba’s leading trade partner with 

47% of total trade, followed by countries from North America 

and South America (37%) and Asia (14%). Sherritt International 

was the second largest foreign investor in the country through its 

production of nickel and cobalt at Moa Bay and its investments 

in agriculture, oil and gas development, power generation, 

telecommunications, and tourism. In 2014, the company 

continued to be the largest independent energy producer in 

Cuba through nationwide petroleum and power operations. 

By 2000, the value of mining and quarrying had increased 

by 127% to $614 million, or by 1.4% of the GDP, from that 

of 1993, when it accounted for 0.9% of the GDP; the value 

decreased again to $396 million in 2002 and remained flat 

through 2013, when the value was $434 million (0.6% of the 

GDP) (fig. 3). During the same period, the value of Cuba’s 

industrial manufacturing sector increased to $10.9 billion in 

2013 from $5.8 billion in 1993. The percent share of industrial 

manufacturing in the GDP, however, decreased to 15.6% in 2013 

from 18.3% in 1993, reflecting growth in other sectors (fig. 3) 

(Torres, 2001; United Nations Economic Commission for Latin 

America and the Caribbean, 2014).
In the 2000s, the Government of Cuba focused on 

state-backed projects involving China and Venezuela, the 

latter of which primarily involved the trade of Venezuelan 

crude petroleum in exchange for Cuban medical personnel. 

In 2013, China and Venezuela each received between 10% and 

20% of Cuba’s exported goods. From 2009 through 2013, the 

annual growth rate in the value of mineral exports from Cuba 

was about 9%; China, Belize, and Estonia were the top three 

recipients of Cuba’s mineral exports, together accounting for 

a 90.6% of the total. In 2013, China, the United Kingdom, 

and Belgium together received 73.3% of Cuba’s total mineral 

exports. The annual percentage growth rate in the value 

of exported basic manufactures was 29.5%. In 2009, the 

Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Honduras together received 

62.1% of Cuba’s basic manufactures, and in 2013, Togo, 

Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic together received 

66.5% of Cuba’s basic manufactures (Feinberg, 2012).

As the productivity of Cuba’s manufacturing and 

mining sectors decreased steadily, the country’s current 

level of industrial production as a whole, which included the 

agricultural sector, has been estimated to be operating at about 

50% of that prior to 1990. Merchandise exports were reported 

to be less than 10% of national output in 2010 (the last year 

data were available) and agricultural imports are reported 

to consume a large, but unspecified, share of Cuba’s limited 

export earnings (Feinberg, 2012). 

In November 2014, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Trade 

and Investment announced 246 development projects for 

which it was seeking $8 billion in foreign investment. The 

Government of Cuba specifically stated that Cuba will remain 

a state-driven economy dominated by large Government 

holding companies and that most foreign ventures will retain 

a majority Cuban ownership. Among the portfolio of projects, 

86 are in the petroleum sector (the sector with the greatest 

number of prospective projects) and 10 projects each are in 

the manufacturing and mining sectors. In the energy sector, the 

country is offering joint ventures in petroleum extraction from 

onshore and offshore blocks, but also reported that it hopes to 

increase the share of electricity produced by renewable sources 

to 24% by 2030 from 4% in 2014. Foreign investment opportunities are being offered in biomass and solar energy production 

and hydroelectric power, and the Government announced that it 

will allow 100% foreign ownership in wind farms. Regardless 

of whether energy ventures are partially or fully foreign owned, 

output will be required to be sold at predetermined prices to 

state distribution systems. Included in the guidelines released by 

the Cuban Government, joint-venture firms will be required to 

provide business plans that make projections for their potential 

impact on the country’s balance of payments. The guidelines 

prevent the privatization of state held businesses, but allow 

foreign investment entities to partner with domestic business 

cooperatives. Small-scale private enterprises, however, will 

not be allowed to partner with foreign investment entities 

(Feinberg, 2014). 

Figure 2. Annual gross domestic product (GDP) for 

Cuba and selected other countries of Latin America 

and the Caribbean from 1990 to 2013. Data from United 

Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and 

the Caribbean, 2014. 

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 

Year 

Fig 2. 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Value of real GDP in billions of dollars 

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Guatemala 

Bolivia 

Figure 3. The percentage share of mining and manufacturing in the annual gross domestic product (GDP) 

for Cuba, selected other countries of Latin America 

and the Caribbean (LAC), and all LAC countries from 

1990 to 2013. Data from United Nations Economic 

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2014. 

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 

Year 

0

5

10

15

20

25

Fig 3. 

Percent share in GDP by activity

Guatemala

Cuba

Dominican Republic

All LAC

Bolivia

Manufacturing Mining

EXPLANATION
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For more information, contact:

Director, National Minerals Information Center 

U.S. Geological Survey

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

988 National Center

Reston, VA 20192

Email: nmicrecordsmgt@usgs.gov

Or visit the USGS Minerals Information Web site at 

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/

By Susan Wacaster, Michael S. Baker, Yadira Soto-Viruet, 

and Steven Textoris. 

ISSN 2327–6916 (print) ISSN 2327–6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20153032