Russian oil arrives in Cuba as Moscow finds alternative buyers for its shunned supplies

• An oil tanker carrying 700,000 barrels of Russian oil reached Cuba on Thursday, Reuters first reported.
• The ship's cargo is worth roughly $70 million at the current market price.

A tanker carrying 700,000 barrels of Russian oil arrived in Cuba Thursday, Reuters first reported, as Moscow looks for alternative buyers.

The Liberia-flagged ship is owned by a unit of the Russian-operated shipping company Sovcomflot, which is currently subject to British, Canadian and US sanctions. At current prices, the cargo is worth about $70 million.

Russia has sought alternative markets as Western sanctions take aim at its oil exports. Cuba typically leans on Venezuela for its oil imports, but has been forced to make more expensive purchases in the spot market as Venezuela is among a slew of countries struggling to push output to meet its own demand.

Brazil also signaled this week that it would also embrace Russian flows, and its diesel will be used to support agriculture and drivers. In fact, Russia has quickly become one of the largest suppliers of oil to Latin America.

And although crude has dropped recently amid recession fears, Russia is still benefiting from elevated prices even as its own output remains in question. Moscow is still making billions from sales of its oil despite sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine.