The figures presented below are the result of the monitoring and systematization of news and reports on oil spills in Venezuela. We must point out that the information was gathered by analyzing portals, networks and expert organizations on the subject such as Clima 21, the Observatorio de Ecología Política de Venezuela, the Observatorio Venezolano de Derechos Humanos Ambientales and interviews with personalities such as biologist Eduardo Klein.
An oil spill not only causes damage to the environment, but also impacts the communities and the economy. Despite the fact that Venezuela has an Oil Spill Contingency Plan, has regulations to mitigate and control this type of accidents, and has signed international agreements related to this issue, the increase of spills in the country and the way in which they are dealt with show not only negligence on the part of the competent authorities, but also lack of professionalism in dealing with this type of contingencies. PDVSA itself reported between 2016 and 2020 more than one million barrels of oil spilled; as of that date there are no official reports on the matter.
A black stain invades the Venezuelan ecosystem
In 2025 it is important to consider the reports of spills in Venezuela associated with PDVSA’s infrastructure and that many have been disseminated by affected communities near the facilities and digital media due to the lack of official information.
January started with an oil spill that damaged part of Lake Maracaibo in the state of Zulia. The contamination of the lake has manifested itself with the presence of metals that harm human and other animal health. “Some time ago it was reported that there was a high level of banadium in fish, which apparently could generate malformations in humans,” said scientist Héctor Severeyn referring to that fact. “Banadium and lead are the metals most commonly found in oil,” he complemented.
The ecosystem of Lake Maracaibo is unique and has been put at risk by this continuous contamination. It is an estuary, which has a mixture of fresh and saline water. Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America with an area of 13,000 square kilometers and has about 200 kilometers of mangroves along the shore. There are some 145 species of fish, of which at least 30 are endemic, as biologist Yurasi Briceño told Venezuelan media outlet Efecto Cocuyo.
At the end of January a fuel spill was reported from a PDVSA tank located in the Amuay refinery, due to operational negligence that allowed it to overflow. Late in February a spill was reported in the state of Anzoátegui that impacted the local flora, fauna and rivers.
In the first quarter of this year 2025, two oil spills were reported that once again affected the Golfete de Coro, in the state of Falcón, with serious environmental and economic implications for the western part of the country.
In the case of Falcón, there have been so many oil spills, as well as constant gas leaks, which have created anguish and discontent in the local communities and in the fishing community of the Golfete de Coro, who have complained to different governmental agencies to solve this serious problem, without getting any answers. The fishermen’s guild has suffered significant economic losses as a result of this situation. The fishermen’s society has even had to move to islands bordering Venezuela in order to restart their activities, since the oil spills have exterminated or scared away the fish species.
If we go back in time we will remember that in August 2024 there was a spill at the El Palito refinery that covered approximately 200 KM2 impacting the beaches of Carabobo as Palma Sola and Falcón as Boca de Aroa. Then in March 2025, biologist Eduardo Klein reported another spill, which this time occurred at the El Palito refinery, Carabobo state, and at Planta Centro and reached the coasts of Falcón state at the time. According to professor and researcher Eduardo Klein, this oil slick covered some 225 km², affecting coasts, beaches and tourist recreation sites.
It is important to note that Morrocoy National Park, famous for its keys and beaches, has suffered damage to its ecosystem as a result of contamination from oil spills from the El Palito refinery, located in the state of Carabobo. The oil is carried to its shores by winds and tides, affecting mangroves and corals where turtles, fish and birds feed, and negatively impacting tourism in the area.
Eduardo Klein, an expert in marine sciences, has expressed that “in spite of the spills, the fauna and flora resist dying. However, the food of the fish, which are the phytoplankton and zooplankton, is affected. Also the microorganisms that serve as food for shrimp, crabs and fish, which are the base of the trophic (food) chain”.
As for the state of Monagas, in this first quarter of 2025, there were spills coming from a pipeline coming from Campo Morichal, in the south of Monagas. So far there are three oil spills, scattered along the southern highway and another one in the parish of La Pica de Maturín, disturbing the communities and the plains.
As in the other periods, the state oil company (PDVSA) did not provide adequate and sufficient information on the damages and their causes, characteristics of the oil and barrels spilled, nor any other details on the corrective actions to be taken by the company.
In conclusion, the Venezuelan government continues to fail to comply with its obligation to adopt adequate policies and actions to guarantee a continuous and sustained improvement in the enjoyment of the environmental human rights of citizens, in relation to the impact of oil spills occurring in the country.
Another factor that experts pointed out as central is the lack of information and monitoring of spills. Scientists and civil society have had to generate their own historical counts, which they hope will serve to repair at some point the situation generated by the oil industry. There are private organizations that keep records of spills. Neither the government nor PDVSA keep records, nor do they verify what damage was caused. Additionally, the academics commented that the complicity of the authorities with the state oil company PDVSA is the daily bread. No institution dictates administrative procedures against PDVSA or the corresponding sanctions for the leaks that result in recurrent and wide spatial spills, affecting communities, aquatic fauna, fishing, birds and coastal mangrove margins.
Finally, according to the NGO Clima 21, in 2024 there were about 35 spills in five different states and so far in 2025 there have been 13 oil spills, gas leaks and explosions of parts of oil pipelines and polyducts.
Risk management policies and actions of foreign companies such as Shell, Repsol, Conoco Phillips and Total to prevent and mitigate oil spills:
Major oil companies such as Shell, Repsol, Conoco Phillips and Total (now TotalEnergies) have risk management policies and actions to prevent and mitigate oil spills, which generally include the following aspects:
Design and maintenance of facilities to new technology standards: these are companies that invest in the safe design of their facilities, pipelines and equipment, and perform regular maintenance to prevent failures.
Operating Procedures: establish and update detailed operating procedures to minimize risks during the extraction, transportation and storage of oil and gas.
Inspections and verifications: on the other hand, they carry out periodic inspections and verifications of their assets to identify and correct potential problems before they cause spills.
Early detection technologies: are energy companies that implement monitoring and early detection systems for leaks and spills with the use of digitalization, drones, sensors and artificial intelligence (AI).
Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plans: This refers to the development and updating of facility-specific plans that identify risks, prevention measures, and spill response procedures. It includes refineries, plants, pipelines, docks and storage silos.
Response equipment and resources: They also maintain equipment and resources (their own or through specialized organizations they contract) to contain, clean up and remediate the impacts of spills that occur.
Training and drills: these are companies that invest in training their personnel in spill prevention and response, and conduct periodic drills to ensure the effectiveness of their plans.
Asset integrity management: these corporations also have programs in place to ensure the long-term integrity of their infrastructures.
Risk analysis: on a daily basis they perform risk assessments to identify areas of greatest vulnerability and apply specific preventive measures.
Collaboration with response organizations: Through agreements and arrangements, they participate in local, regional and international spill response organizations to access resources and expertise.
Lessons learned: After any event, they analyze the causes of incidents and spills to implement corrective and preventive actions to avoid recurrence.
It is good to know that some energy corporations such as Shell publish annual reports detailing their spill prevention and response efforts. Similarly, Repsol, in its sustainability section, describes its spill prevention, detection and management mechanisms and the European company TotalEnergies includes information on its environmental risk management and accident prevention in its annual sustainability reports.
Sources consulted: NGO Climate 21, OPEC, International Energy Agency, EIA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Oil Spill Response, Ltd (OSRL) and ITOPF.
