Energas, a joint venture involving Cuban state-owned entities UNE and CUPET, alongside Canadian partner Sherritt International, has been a pivotal force in Cuba's energy landscape for over two decades. With a substantial installed capacity of 480 MW across three facilities, including Energas Boca de Jaruco, Energas Puerto Escondido, and Energas Varadero, the company contributes significantly to the nation's electricity supply, typically accounting for 8% to 10% of total generation. Beyond power generation, Energas plays a crucial role in producing naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic consumption. A key environmental benefit of Energas is its purification of gas, which is then supplied to Havana for cooking, serving approximately 1 million people. This process also extends to the Energas Varadero plant, enhancing the environmental quality of the renowned tourist destination. Despite the constant presence of gas in these operations, stringent safety protocols and advanced technical conditions ensure no trace of the chemical compound in the air, a testament to the company's commitment to safety, as highlighted by Operations Manager Roberto Castillo.

The genesis of Energas in the late 1990s was a direct response to the environmental challenges posed by sulfur emissions from oil wells, particularly as Varadero's tourism sector boomed. Engineer Raúl Pérez González, Deputy General Manager of Energas, articulated that the company was established to harmonize oil exploration with the burgeoning tourism industry, with gas treatment being a critical component. Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz inaugurated the first Energas plant in December 2000, envisioning a solution that would mitigate sulfur emissions and simultaneously bolster the country's energy supply. This joint venture, as explained by Economic Manager Edel Andrés Alfaro Pérez, leveraged additional gas production from successful oil development in Varadero, thereby reducing harmful emissions and bolstering environmental protection. Moreover, since 2003, Energas has consistently delivered the nation's most cost-effective electricity, utilizing natural gas from Matanzas, Mayabeque, and northern Havana oil wells with high efficiency. Roberto Castillo, an experienced plant worker, elaborated that this cost-effectiveness stems from utilizing associated gas—a byproduct of oil extraction—which was previously flared, representing a significant loss of resources and an environmental hazard. Energas's innovative use of this gas for both electricity generation in combined cycle thermal power plants and domestic cooking underscores its dual commitment to energy security and public welfare.

Oniel Tápanes further detailed the operational efficiency of Energas, explaining that the facilities utilize combined cycle power, a technology that transforms the thermal energy of natural gas into electricity through a synergistic operation of gas and steam turbines. This two-cycle process—the Brayton cycle for gas turbines and the Rankine cycle for steam turbines—significantly enhances energy utilization. He noted that while a simple machine might achieve 29% energy utilization, the combined cycle, by recovering exhaust gases to generate steam, boosts efficiency to 44% or 45%, effectively nearly doubling the energy derived from the fuel. Despite facing challenges such as insufficient gas supply leading to underutilized generation capacity, future investments aimed at interconnecting the El Fraile field with the Energas Puerto Escondido plant are projected to increase daily gas production by half a million cubic meters, thereby boosting power output by approximately 70 MW. Alfredo López Valdés, Director General of UNE, affirmed the critical role of Energas in stabilizing the national grid, particularly after the recent maintenance and synchronization of Unit 6 at Energas Boca de Jaruco. This facility's ability to produce the least expensive baseload power by utilizing natural gas from petroleum refining prevents the need for costly and carbon-intensive diesel generators. The ongoing efforts to increase natural gas production and maintain a continuous flow to Energas plants, including drilling new wells and implementing operational control measures, reflect a strong commitment to energy sovereignty and a cleaner, more efficient energy future for Cuba, where environmental protection and economic progress can coexist.