University of Texas at Austin
Major US public research university in Austin, Texas; home of the Energy Institute.
Last refreshed: 12 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Which UT Austin researcher mapped Cuba's oil dependency before the CUPET sanctions?
Timeline for University of Texas at Austin
- What is the University of Texas Energy Institute?
- UT Austin's Energy Institute conducts interdisciplinary research on energy systems, oil markets, and the energy transition. Its scholars include Jorge Pinon, one of the leading English-language analysts of Cuba's hydrocarbon sector.Source: University of Texas at Austin
- Who is Jorge Pinon at the University of Texas?
- Jorge Pinon is a Cuban-energy analyst at UT Austin's Energy Institute. His research on Cuba's oil production and import dependency has been widely cited in policy discussions about US sanctions on the Cuban energy sector.Source: event
- How does UT Austin research affect US Cuba policy?
- UT Austin's Energy Institute researchers, particularly Jorge Pinon, provide technical data on Cuba's oil sector that informs congressional and executive-branch analysis of the likely impact of energy-sector sanctions.Source: event
Background
The University of Texas at Austin is the institutional home of Jorge Pinon, a Cuban-energy analyst at UT's Energy Institute whose work is cited in the Cuba-dispatch briefing on the OFAC designation of CUPET, Cuba's state oil company. Pinon's research covers Cuba's domestic production of roughly 40,000 Barrels Per Day and its import dependency of a further 70,000-80,000 barrels daily, figures central to assessing the designation's economic impact.
Founded in 1883, UT Austin is the flagship of the University of Texas System and one of the largest public universities in the United States, enrolling over 50,000 students. The university's Energy Institute conducts interdisciplinary research on energy systems, oil and gas markets, and the energy transition, with particular expertise in Latin American energy policy. UT Austin also hosts the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, which houses further Latin America-focused policy research.
UT Austin's research profile gives it consistent relevance in US policy debates on energy geopolitics. On Cuba, its Energy Institute scholars are among the few English-language academic sources with detailed technical knowledge of the island's hydrocarbon sector, a niche that becomes especially visible when US sanctions target Cuban Energy infrastructure.
