After Trump’s Venezuelan oil deal, those living on polluted lake in oil country wait for change
Lake Maracaibo has become a symbol of the deteriorated state of the Venezuela's oil industry
Jessica Partida, 42, needs a $30 US ultrasound for her kidneys, which she can’t afford.
asserted
she → live → which
Her husband, Enrique Olivares, fishes on Lake Maracaibo, and for days the oil in the water has prevented him from catching the shrimp he uses as bait.
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he → fish → bait
Without bait, he cannot fish, and when he doesn’t fish, he doesn’t make money.
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he → fish → money
“I left the hospital because my husband hasn’t been able to fish because of the oil,” she said.
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she → leave → oil
Partida’s family of six lives in a block home in Cabimas, about 500 km west of Caracas, on the shore of one of the country’s largest oil-producing regions.
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family → live → regions
Just over a century ago, a Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary first struck oil here.
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subsidiary → strike → oil
The lake (technically an estuary) served as a symbol for Venezuela’s oil wealth for decades.
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lake → serve → decades
But today, the water is dotted with rusting rigs and pumpjacks.
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water → dot → rigs
Most of them are out of use and some leak oil and gas into the water.
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some → leak → water
Now, the lake that once embodied Venezuela’s oil bonanza has come to symbolize the industry’s collapse.
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that → embody → collapse
Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels, but accounts for only about one per cent of global supply.
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Venezuela → hold → supply
Oil output has fallen by about two-thirds since the early 2000s.
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output → fall → 2000s
The decline began under former president Hugo Chávez, when state oil company PDVSA fired around 18,000 skilled workers following a 2002-2003 strike.
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PDVSA → begin → strike
Revenues were diverted away from maintenance, and much of the oil infrastructure has been left to decay.
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much → divert → infrastructure
U.S. sanctions imposed in 2017 and 2019 compounded the problems.
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sanctions → impose → problems
“We don’t feel the oil wealth,” Partida said.
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Partida → feel → wealth
“We don’t sell the oil, we don’t do anything with it.
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we → sell → it
It just sits there, going to waste.”
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It → sit → waste
Oil fields in the Maracaibo Basin, where the lake is located, are part of the sweeping energy deal reached in late August between the United States and Venezuela’s interim authorities.
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lake → locate → States
It grants private company North American Blue Energy Partners a 100-year concession over 17 oil fields around the country.
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It → grant → country
The company has promised to double oil production in two years.
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company → promise → years
While many in the community surrounding the lake welcome promises to revitalize the oil sector, they also have a more immediate demand: clean up the polluted lake.
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they → surround → lake
The oil shifts with winds and currents, but fishermen say it often drifts toward them in the early afternoon, just when they would normally head out to collect shrimp to use as bait for the following morning.
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they → shift → morning
“When there’s a lot of oil, we don’t do anything,” said Gregory Díaz, 36, who has fished the lake for 20 years.
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who → ’ → years
“When we throw our nets, they become covered in oil, and if the nets get damaged, we have nothing to work with.”
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we → throw → nothing
“The oil companies used to come clean the shore but stopped,” said Olivares, who has fished on the lake for over a decade.
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who → use → decade
“Used to, PDVSA would replace our nets when they were damaged, but they haven’t done that in years.”
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they → use → years
The Observatory of Political Ecology of Venezuela, which tracks pollution events across the country, counted more than 80 oil spills in 2022, the last year for which figures are available.
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figures → track → which
Most were located in the western part of the country near the lake.
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Most → locate → lake
Those who live along the lake say the spills haven’t stopped, and many describe dozens of large ones each year.
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many → live → ones
“This one just exploded a few weeks ago,” said Carlos Rodríguez from his fishing boat as he steered toward a pumpjack that was leaking gas and covered in sticky crude, which was also dripping into the water.
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which → explode → water
The crude oil covers every surface in contact with the water, leaving a black slimy residue.
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oil → cover → residue
Many say the constant smell and contact with the oil has impacted their health.
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smell → say → health
“There are people who suffer from asthma and it chokes them,” said Rodríguez.
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Rodríguez → be → them
“Most have left because the oil chokes them so much and they would rather live somewhere else.
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they → leave → them
“The kids go swimming and come out stained with oil,” Partida said.
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Partida → go → oil
No cleanup scheduled
Neither the U.S. nor Venezuelan authorities have mentioned cleanup of the lake as part of the new oil deal.
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authorities → schedule → deal
Venezuelan authorities have made several unfulfilled promises in recent years to clean up the water and shore, most recently in 2023, when the Environmental Ministry promised a “national team” to clean 600 beaches by the lake.
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Ministry → make → lake
The government’s communication ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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ministry → respond → comment
- Analysis
The U.S. could soon control 20% of Venezuela's oil reserves.
uncertain
U.S. → control → reserves
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
