PdVSA supply cut to Cuba exposes light crude deficit

A large portion of the oil that Venezuela has stopped delivering to close ally Cuba this year is light crude, mirroring the composition of the steep decline in Venezuelan production. Venezuelan state-owned PdV's shipments of crude and refined products to Cuba have dropped to a contractual minimum of 53,000 b/d so far in 2016 compared with about 79,000 b/d in 2015, with light crude accounting for a "very significant part" of the 26,000 b/d supply cut, an energy ministry official told Argus. PdV is still sending some light crude to Cuba, the official said, but declined to detail the current supply mix. PdV has tried to offset the reduction in light crude supply to Cuba with increased volumes of diesel, fuel oil and LPG. But the 33pc drop in Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba over the past year has left the island with a crude supply deficit that PdV cannot cover, the official said. More…