"... am an interested observer and this won't be the last junior drilling, so interesting to see where the market may move this ...


Hydrocarbon activity in Cuba has been a stop-start process, due to lack of investment associated with the US Embargo. However, with so much oil around in the system, coupled with more modern exploration and production techniques being introduced, the future looks exciting. The activities and plans of a number of companies operating in Cuba are testament to that.

Ian Cross

August 25, 2023

The island of Cuba has a rich history of oil and gas exploration, dating back as far as the 1860s when commercial discoveries of heavy oil were found. The first significant discovery in Cuba was light oil in the Motembo oil field in 1881. The 1950s saw a boom following the discovery of the Jatibonico field in the Central Basin by a group of local businessmen under the company name of Grupo Jarueca, and other operators onshore at the time included Atlantic Refining, Gulf Oil, Shell, Standard Oil and Union Oil.

The state oil company Unión Cuba Petróleo (CUPET) was established in 1959. There was a further rush for acreage in the 1990s and those signing blocks included Alturas, British Borneo, Geopetrol, Premier and Sherritt. More recently, offshore blocks were awarded to CNPC, Petronas, PetroVietnam, PDVSA, ONGC, Repsol, Sonangol and Zarubezhneft. Interesting to note is the number of state oil companies that signed offshore blocks.

Calgary-based Sherritt International has the longest history of foreign companies in Cuba having been active in the country for over 30 years. During this period, Sherritt produced over 230 million barrels. It currently holds three exploration blocks. Sherritt has plans to drill exploration wells in Block 6A, aiming at extending the north coast oil trend, and Block 10, a prospect offsetting the Varadero Field. Big Plans

ASX-Listed Melbana Energy pre-qualified as an operator in Cuba in 2013 and identified Block 9 on the north coast as a preferred opportunity due to its location along the same structural trend as the massive Varadero Field. Melbana were subsequently awarded the Block 9 PSC in 2015, and Angolan-state oil company, Sonangol, farmed in to a two-well drilling campaign in 2020.

In 2021 and 2022, Melbana drilled two wells, designated Alameda-1 and Zapato-1. Alameda-1 is reported to have intersected three separate reservoirs that have been independently assessed to contain an impressive 5 billion barrels of oil in place, significantly exceeding initial expectations. Zapato-1 was reported to have encountered a thicker than expected volcanic sequence and with slow drilling the wildcat was suspended with the possibility of re-entering in the future.

Melbana started an appraisal programme on Alameda in June 2023 aimed at testing all three units of the Amistad Formation, targeting 88 million barrels of gross and unrisked prospective resources. A second well, targeting the deeper Alameda and Marti formations, will be drilled following the first well and is targeting 179 million barrels of gross prospective resources. Melbana hope that successful flow tests will allow the booking of reserves and the movement towards a development plan and production of oil.

Another Australian-based company, Petro Australis Energy Limited (PAE) has big plans in Cuba. PAE holds three onshore PSCs, two awarded in 2018 and the third in 2020. Its main activity is focused on Block 21A-IOR (Incremental Oil Recovery), which contains the Pina oil field, and the underlying and surrounding exploration Block 21A-P. Pina was discovered by Cupet in 1989 and only half the field is considered as exploited with no new wells drilled since 2001. PAE is planning a series of production wells with a target of an initial ramp-up to 5,000 BOPD. Meanwhile, Block 21A-P contains the carbonate Pina Deep Prospect, which is analogous to the 11 billion oil in place Varadero shallow water field in Cuba. Block 14-13NE is an exploration block on the north coast with a low commitment of reprocessing 2D seismic data.

In summary, the activities of Sherritt, Melbana and PAE are worth being closely watched, introducing a return of interest and exploration to the underexplored Cuban sector of the Gulf of Mexico.

"why aren't you maybe reading what maybe going-on ... how may you or others be taken seriously ? ... or everything may equal a positive right ... FOMO !!! ... lol ... try reading this Hateful8 ? ... think about it ..."

Backer I 10x'd this thing in an 8 week period between Jan & Mar when it first took off and before reality kicked in.. Since then Zapato, The Market, and current economic conditions have brought it back to current value which if you believe the numbers (and I do) means that it is undervalued at present hence I hold.
Nothing further to read. Made money, took it off the table, now comfortable with all risk going forward, simple.

And as for being taken seriously, I am not and doubt I ever will ask anyone to do so. Simply because I am hardly an authority and ergo encourage all others to research for themselves...

Which is not merely the undertaking of any public forum observation can I just say.. DYOR is not goading Flam, Kit or S78 into confessions or for the purpose of self-gratification derived from pointing out supposed lack of operational knowledge.



May I ask, who the Fat Cat are you to Judge Sir.. ?

... by the looks for MAY in Cuba there's been x1 EPT that may have A-2 produced around Oil @ ~300 bbls/d ? [heavy-crude?] and the 1st A-3 DST was what API / Flow-rate numbers ? ...

Yes, as per the US guide 19 API is classified as a heavy oil. Yet the viscosity range of heavy oil appears to be 100cp plu at least..

whilst Melbana reported 19 API 30cp and a max vol flow rate of 1183 barrels per day before "Intentionally" choking back the flow during their EPT.. I mean if we want to speak about being dis-ingenuous, or misleading, then I might point out that ignorance of stated facts (as reported to the ASX) goes both ways, do we agree?

In comparison with heavy oil, light or "conventional" oil flows naturally and can be pumped without being heated or diluted. Light oil is characterized by an API gravity of at least 22°, and extra-heavy oil has an API gravity of less than 10°. Natural bitumen, also known as oil sands, shares the characteristics of heavy oil but is even more dense and viscous - with a viscosity greater than 10,000 cP.

Heavy oils typically are not recoverable in their natural state through a well or by ordinary production methods. Most require heat or dilution to flow into a well or through a pipeline.

Melbana ran an unassisted test and recovered samples from surface which were laboratory tested.. Full Stop..

"may any Oil Major maybe even bother with these numbers ? ... is that A-2 well back-online ? ... hmmm"

Do you mean other than this one?




."... so what ? are you going to wait maybe 20 years ... and for what ...

Hardly... And neither did Sherritt. Who started out as miners and not experienced oil drillers so the fact they grew as fast as they did seems to bode well for how this may play out, don't you think. ? h8tey

Sherritt boosts heavy oil output in northern Cuba

Oct. 9, 2000

Cuba's oil production rate is growing as Sherritt International Corp., Toronto, develops heavy oil fields along the island's northern coast

Cuba's oil production rate is growing as Sherritt International Corp., Toronto, develops heavy oil fields along the island's northern coast.

Sherritt said its gross oil production in Cuba in the quarter ended June 30 averaged 31,818 b/d, compared with 18,801 b/d in the 1999 second quarter.

Sherritt holds an indirect interest in seven exploration/production-sharing contracts with the government. The 11 contracts cover a combined 3.55 million acres and encompass most of the island's existing oil fields, the company said.

"The enhanced production-sharing contracts require the corporation to provide services and technical assistance to rework and enhance the production of selected wells, or to drill new wells in existing oil fields," Sherritt said. In return, the company gets a percentage of the incremental oil production and accelerated recovery of its costs.

Sherritt said Cuba "appears to have a favorable geological setting for massive accumulations of oil and gas."

Field operations

Sherritt in February 2000 produced its 25 millionth bbl of operated cumulative oil production since beginning operations there in 1992.

The company said it has "accumulated an extensive data base of historical geological, engineering, and production information from all of the wells in the north coast Cuban oil fields and has gained unparalleled experience in the characterization, technical understanding and management of Cuba's reservoirs."

Sherritt's main focus in 1999 was to commence production from new reserves.

It drilled three discovery wells and six development wells in northern Cuba in 1999.

These included three at Puerto Escondido, one at Yumuri, two in Varadero, and one in the Varadero West contract area. The company also participated in two wells on Block 7, Canasi-2 and Seboruco-1.

It drilled and completed Cuba's first multilateral horizontal well at Varadero.

A discovery well drilled in June 1999 at Yumuri oil field flowed at a rate of 4,400 bo/d. A seismic program was shot over Yumuri in August 1999, and two additional development wells were scheduled during 2000.

Sherritt acquired a 45% working interest in Block 7 last year and participated in the drilling of the Canasi and Seboruco discovery wells.

Sherritt said it added 8 million bbl of gross proved reserves in Cuba during 1999 at a finding and development cost of $5.03/bbl.

Operating details

Realized oil prices for the Cuban production averaged $23.40/bbl in first half 2000 vs. $14.29/bbl in the first 6 months of 1999.

Second quarter 2000 average net oil production of 16,798 b/d was 43% higher than the same period of 1999 and set a quarterly production record.

Oil and gas operations generated about 60% of Sherritt's total revenues in first half 2000. Oil and gas capital spending was $19 million in the first half.

Sherritt said it ranks among the top seven oil and gas producers in Canada in terms of the production levels achieved for its non-Canadian operations.