A large plume of smoke rose from the Ñico López refinery in the harbor of Havana on Friday, as a fire broke out at the facility. The incident comes as Cuba faces a severe energy crisis and escalating economic challenges.
Cortesía | The fire occurs in a particularly delicate context for the Cuban economy.
The fire began mid-afternoon in a warehouse at the refinery, according to officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem). Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, though the cause remains under investigation. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
The Ñico López refinery, one of three in Cuba, is located near densely populated areas and has been the subject of concern due to accumulated technical problems and its environmental impact on the Bay of Havana. Nationalized in 1960, the facility processes both domestic and imported crude oil, but has been hampered by operational limitations exacerbated by the island’s energy crisis, which began in mid-2024.
The incident underscores the vulnerability of Cuba’s aging energy infrastructure. It likewise occurs amid increasing international pressure on the Cuban government. Since January, the United States has intensified energy restrictions, curtailing shipments of Venezuelan oil and threatening tariffs on other fuel suppliers to the island.
A shortage of foreign currency has further restricted the import of fuel, and experts in maritime transport report a recent decline in international oil tanker arrivals. These factors have prompted emergency measures, including reduced school and university hours, shortened workdays, decreased public transportation, and limitations on fuel sales. Hospitals have also been forced to reduce staffing levels due to resource constraints.
The fire evokes memories of the devastating 2022 fire at the Matanzas supertanker base, the largest industrial disaster in Cuba in recent history, which resulted in seventeen deaths and the destruction of four 50,000-cubic-meter storage tanks. While Friday’s fire was not as extensive, it highlights the precarious state of Cuba’s energy facilities.
Cuba’s state-run electricity company, Unión Eléctrica de Cuba (UNE), anticipates widespread power outages across the island on Friday, potentially affecting 57% of the population during peak demand hours in the afternoon and evening. The company projects a generation capacity of 1,361 megawatts (MW) against a maximum demand of 3,100 MW, creating a deficit of 1,739 MW. To prevent uncontrolled blackouts, up to 1,769 MW will be disconnected in a scheduled manner.
The energy crisis has worsened since mid-2024, fueled by U.S. Energy restrictions, which the Cuban government claims have increased the frequency of power cuts nationwide. The deterioration of thermal power plants – many of which have been in operation for decades – and a lack of foreign exchange to import fuel have further deepened the emergency.
Currently, seven of the sixteen operational thermoelectric plants are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance, including two of the three largest in the system. Thermoelectric generation accounts for an average of 40% of the national energy mix, accentuating the system’s vulnerability to plant outages.
Independent experts attribute the situation to chronic underfunding of the electricity sector, which has been under state control since 1959. Unofficial estimates suggest that between $8 billion and $10 billion would be required to rehabilitate the infrastructure and restore service stability.
The Cuban government maintains that U.S. Sanctions are the primary obstacle to accessing resources and technology, alleging a policy of “energy strangulation” by Washington.
Prolonged power outages are having a direct impact on the national economy, which has contracted by more than 15% since 2020, according to official figures, and have triggered some of the most significant social protests in recent years on the island.
