US Sanctions Cuba’s State Oil Firm in Blow to Private Fuel Deal

The US sanctioned Cuba’s state oil and gas company, potentially derailing a deal to send fuel to the communist-run island’s private sector in the middle of a dire energy crisis.

Unión Cuba-Petróleo, known as Cupet, was added to the Treasury Department’s blacklist on Thursday, according to updated guidance from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Cupet pumps the roughly 40,000 barrels per day of oil that Cuba produces itself, which covers only two fifths of the island’s needs. It’s also responsible for the nation’s refineries, fuel distribution and much of its energy infrastructure.

“Like every resource on the island, energy ...