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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- After 12 years of being part of Cuba’s long list of imported products, the island has resumed a project to produce fuel for air transportation using a technology developed by the Oil Research Center.

The fall of the Socialist bloc, along with the depression of the Cuban oil industry and the intensification of the US economic blockade, among other factors, brought a halt to the production of aviation fuel in the country, Granma newspaper reported.

According to the article, compared to other oil byproducts, the one used for air transportation is among the most expensive in the world market despite having the lowest production and distribution costs.

Antonio Rodriguez Molto, of the Basic Industry Ministry, said the Cuban project for producing this fuel was resumed thanks to the Energy Saving Program carried out in the island during the first five few years of the 21st century that enabled the use of spare kerosene for the production of turbine fuel.

Following those efforts, the Oil Research Center undertook the challenge of coming up with new formulas that would make it possible to use Cuban crude oil, noted Granma.

Alberto Cavado, in charge of the project, said investments have been made to acquire and set up industrial equipment, topnotch filtration systems and special tanks, as well as a modern analytic database to check the quality of the product. The oil refineries in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Cienfuegos are participating in the production of this fuel, currently certified and endorsed by international authorities.

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