Hot Black Salsa: A Brief History of Petroleum in Cuba

Abstract

Abstract

The rich and passionate history of Cuba includes petroleum exploration and development that can be divided into segments linked to the historical development of the country. The principal zone of exploitation of petroleum has been in a narrow belt along the north coast and the immediate offshore area of the island where a tectonically thickened Jurassic-Cretaceous carbonate source and reservoir section forms a supercharged petroleum system, manifest by numerous oil and gas seeps and asphalt dykes on the surface. Prior to Columbus's historic voyage in 1492, the Taino indigenous population utilized the asphalt to caulk their canoes and mixed it with chicle to protect their teeth. The first Spaniard to circumnavigate Cuba in 1508, Sebastian de Ocampo, used asphalt from seeps near La Habana to seal his ships, though no commercial exploitation occurred during the Spanish reign until the late 1800's. The first commercial subsurface discoveries were of heavy crude near Matanzas in 1872 and 58 degree “naptha” at Motembo in 1881 that provided town lighting. The War of Independence that ended in 1898 coincided with the technological revolution and commercial demand for petroleum that encouraged more exploration. About 150 wells were drilled from La Habana to Central Cuba from 1900 to 1959 by independent and multi-national operators, and several small fields produced small amounts of oil, primarily from or near serpentinite domes. Asphalt mines also were developed to pave streets in the USA, including New York City. Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, several hundred more wells were drilled by Cupet, the State oil company, and all of the significant heavy oil fields of the north coast, such as Varadero, were discovered and produced, developing the first large scale petroleum infrastructure in the country. From 1990 onward, following the end of the Soviet Union and its support for Cuba, a number of companies from Canada, Europe, and Brazil have drilled about 20 exploratory wells without success, but have been, along with Cupet, successful in redeveloping fields along the north coast, drilling hundreds of horizontal wells from onshore locations into offshore traps, presently producing 50,000 BOPD. Finally there have been several deep water offshore wells drilled in the past 12 years by major operators, without success, though potential for more discoveries in the productive belt is promising.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90260 © 2016 AAPG/SEG International Conference & Exhibition, Cancun, Mexico, September 6-9, 2016