State-controlled oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA) on September 12 confirmed that an oil spill into the Caribbean sea was from an oil and gas pipeline near the Paraguana Refining Complex (CRP). The company said its aerial inspection found the leak in the Golfete de Coro area in the state of Falcon. It also noted that it had initiated repair and cleanup efforts.
Despite the leak, PDVSA said it would maintain crude delivery to CRP, Venezuela’s largest refining centre which includes the Amuay and Cardon refineries. Both refineries have been experiencing outages in recent years, reportedly due to lack of maintenance and mismanagement. Previously, an oil leak from PDVSA’s infrastructure affected the Morrocoy National Park, highlighting the environmental costs of Venezuela’s ailing oil industry.
