An oil spill has contaminated beaches along Venezuela's northwestern coast, impacting local fishing, according to residents and environmental activists on Monday. In Puerto Cabello, close to the El Palito refinery where a spill occurred last year, tar-like substances disfigured the sandy beaches, as observed by AFP journalists. Environmental researcher Eduardo Klein reported on X, with satellite images included, that the oil slick has damaged an area of 225 square kilometers so far. State oil company PDVSA has yet to comment on the current situation.
Fisherman Antonio Giusti lamented, "We have been virtually jobless for eight days because we cannot go out to fish. There is still oil off the coast of Puerto Cabello." Last year, following a spill from the El Palito refinery, PDVSA clarified that it was "not heavy crude oil, but a discharge of hydrocarbons, wastewater, or effluents directed to the coastal marine environment." Venezuela, possessing one of the world's largest oil reserves, has seen its production drop from over three million barrels per day a decade ago to 400,000 barrels per day in 2020, due to corruption, mismanagement, and US sanctions. Currently, production has recovered to about one million barrels per day, though many experts argue that Venezuela's equipment is in poor condition.
