Dubai Telegraph - Oil-tainted lake a symptom, and symbol, of Venezuela's collapse

EUR -
AED 3.938479
AFN 73.284283
ALL 98.19234
AMD 417.267449
ANG 1.943348
AOA 978.447316
ARS 1071.53141
AUD 1.629089
AWG 1.930079
AZN 1.82711
BAM 1.955647
BBD 2.17713
BDT 128.849948
BGN 1.9562
BHD 0.406468
BIF 3183.551653
BMD 1.072266
BND 1.425189
BOB 7.467417
BRL 6.152562
BSD 1.078316
BTN 90.972903
BWP 14.300884
BYN 3.528725
BYR 21016.42052
BZD 2.17343
CAD 1.49386
CDF 3073.115756
CHF 0.939162
CLF 0.03726
CLP 1028.119797
CNY 7.698019
CNH 7.63378
COP 4640.937963
CRC 551.556973
CUC 1.072266
CUP 28.415058
CVE 110.256399
CZK 25.259812
DJF 192.015021
DKK 7.459869
DOP 64.934934
DZD 142.958848
EGP 52.835878
ERN 16.083995
ETB 133.503285
FJD 2.399951
FKP 0.820465
GBP 0.830088
GEL 2.916983
GGP 0.820465
GHS 17.683621
GIP 0.820465
GMD 76.671173
GNF 9295.27488
GTQ 8.33535
GYD 225.592402
HKD 8.336174
HNL 27.205878
HRK 7.386875
HTG 141.888931
HUF 407.236454
IDR 16786.168917
ILS 4.020796
IMP 0.820465
INR 90.481213
IQD 1412.489812
IRR 45134.375558
ISK 148.766647
JEP 0.820465
JMD 171.076654
JOD 0.760348
JPY 163.686863
KES 139.08915
KGS 92.433433
KHR 4378.658423
KMF 493.644665
KPW 965.039476
KRW 1499.246878
KWD 0.328832
KYD 0.89853
KZT 530.808592
LAK 23665.153893
LBP 96559.167469
LKR 315.465391
LRD 204.33406
LSL 18.869628
LTL 3.166124
LVL 0.648604
LYD 5.232592
MAD 10.648369
MDL 19.338491
MGA 4988.610841
MKD 61.5252
MMK 3482.679288
MNT 3643.561097
MOP 8.633826
MRU 42.957649
MUR 49.75717
MVR 16.566921
MWK 1869.754141
MXN 21.634265
MYR 4.699212
MZN 68.521819
NAD 18.869628
NGN 1788.626462
NIO 39.676905
NOK 11.794827
NPR 145.556645
NZD 1.797446
OMR 0.412628
PAB 1.078316
PEN 4.044584
PGK 4.328662
PHP 62.679371
PKR 299.424042
PLN 4.325898
PYG 8431.342275
QAR 3.931893
RON 4.977143
RSD 116.980874
RUB 104.99181
RWF 1478.084695
SAR 4.02742
SBD 8.943509
SCR 14.390377
SDG 644.972153
SEK 11.594849
SGD 1.4214
SHP 0.820465
SLE 24.501684
SLL 22484.885861
SOS 616.251927
SRD 37.497551
STD 22193.748611
SVC 9.435264
SYP 2694.101668
SZL 18.864528
THB 36.687634
TJS 11.462006
TMT 3.763655
TND 3.347839
TOP 2.511359
TRY 36.822021
TTD 7.327428
TWD 34.580984
TZS 2878.975413
UAH 44.514627
UGX 3946.692121
USD 1.072266
UYU 45.046486
UZS 13787.924411
VEF 3884341.194834
VES 47.874003
VND 27101.532073
VUV 127.301648
WST 3.003615
XAF 655.905833
XAG 0.031788
XAU 0.000394
XCD 2.897854
XDR 0.808437
XOF 655.905833
XPF 119.331742
YER 267.878982
ZAR 19.79817
ZMK 9651.687743
ZMW 29.35571
ZWL 345.269328
  • RBGPF

    61.4000

    61.4

    +100%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    13.53

    +1.18%

  • RELX

    0.3200

    47.98

    +0.67%

  • SCS

    0.0600

    13.14

    +0.46%

  • BCC

    1.4700

    142.32

    +1.03%

  • NGG

    -0.3600

    63.94

    -0.56%

  • CMSC

    0.1600

    24.84

    +0.64%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    7.15

    +0.14%

  • RIO

    -3.0400

    64.43

    -4.72%

  • GSK

    -0.3700

    36.29

    -1.02%

  • VOD

    -0.0100

    9.31

    -0.11%

  • AZN

    -0.2000

    64.49

    -0.31%

  • BTI

    -0.0100

    35.39

    -0.03%

  • CMSD

    0.2350

    25.125

    +0.94%

  • BCE

    0.3000

    28.37

    +1.06%

  • BP

    -0.8800

    28.93

    -3.04%

Oil-tainted lake a symptom, and symbol, of Venezuela's collapse
Oil-tainted lake a symptom, and symbol, of Venezuela's collapse / Photo: Federico PARRA - AFP

Oil-tainted lake a symptom, and symbol, of Venezuela's collapse

A putrid smell hangs over the black-stained shores of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, where an oil slick is emblematic of the steep decline in the country's once-enviable petroleum industry.

Text size:

Here, much like elsewhere in what was once Latin America's richest country, economic hardship drives much of the discussion ahead of July 28 elections, in which President Nicolas Maduro will seek a third six-year term.

"We suffer. Fishing from the shore is no longer possible because of the oil," fisherman Yordi Vicuna, 34, told AFP, adding that catches have fallen tenfold.

He said nets must constantly be washed or replaced after being soiled by oil that leaks from decayed pipes which the government cannot afford to fix.

Much of Venezuela's economic collapse -- fueled partly by a sharp international drop in oil prices after 2014 -- has happened under the watch of Maduro, who has been in office since 2013.

Many Venezuelans -- including Vicuna -- blame US sanctions for the dire situation.

"The pipeline is damaged because of the (economic) blockade," the fisherman said, echoing the government's official line, as he and others shoveled oil-soaked sand from the lake shore.

"We ask the competent agencies, people from outside, to support the government in any way... to fix the pipelines," Vicuna added.

- Boom to bust -

More than a century ago, the hydrocarbon-rich Maracaibo Basin was the birthplace of a business that transformed Venezuela into one of the world's top 10 oil producers -- fueling a decades-long period of incredible prosperity.

The country, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves, was producing 3.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2008, with the United States as its main client.

But in just 12 years this dropped to fewer than half a million barrels following the nationalization of the industry and a crippling, months-long strike at state oil company PDVSA in protest against then-President Hugo Chavez.

Chavez sacked thousands of PDVSA staff and managers, who observers say were replaced mainly by non-expert loyalists.

As oil production dipped, Venezuela fell into an economic crisis marked by years of recession and hyperinflation that has seen an estimated seven million people -- almost a quarter of the population -- flee the country in just under a decade.

Most analysts blame the industry's rapid decline on corruption and inept management at PDVSA, worsened by the toughening of sanctions on Venezuela after Maduro's 2018 reelection, which was not recognized by dozens of countries.

- 'The lake is lost' -

A few oil pumps still operate on Lake Maracaibo's polluted shore, but dozens of machines stand idle.

The Puyuyo beach near the Bajo Grande refinery is black with oil. It was once a popular swim spot but most small hotels and bars here are now closed.

"People used to come here... Families came from all over to visit, eat fish and swim but now there are 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of oil" on the bottom of the lake, said Guillermo Albeniz Cano.

The 64-year-old owns a beach cafe but has no clients. Instead, he barters rice and flour for the occasional fish or crab meat.

When AFP visited Puyuyo, only one table of the cafe was occupied -- by crabbers playing dominoes who said they would rather be working.

"Since there is a lot of oil in the lake, we could not go out today," said father-of-four Luis Angel Vega.

"Sometimes we don't eat for a whole day, the 26-year-old added.

His colleague Alvaro Villamil, 61, tried his luck nevertheless. On his boat "Carmen Rosa," he showed his catch of a few blue crabs he managed to get from the less-polluted center of the lake.

But it is not enough to make a living.

"It's hard... The lake is lost. There's a lot of oil," Villamil told AFP, his long-sleeved T-shirt stained with the stuff.

- 'For sale' -

Maracaibo was a flourishing city in the 20th century, with its colonial buildings, Art Deco theater and tramline.

Today, "for sale" signs on properties far outnumber election campaign posters, while tall grass and crumbling walls abound in the industrial zone.

Some 200 companies, including the German firm Siemens, once had a presence in the area. Today there are about 30.

Yet there are signs that Venezuela's oil fortunes may be looking up again.

Despite the renewal of sanctions after Maduro reneged on negotiated conditions for elections, Washington is allowing companies such as Chevron and Repsol to apply for individual licenses to keep operating in Venezuela.

And Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea said in May he was optimistic that Venezuelan oil production would reach a million barrels per day this year.

This will depend largely on what happens in next Sunday's vote, with widespread fear that Maduro will steal the election and unlock a new era of international pariahdom.

S.Saleem--DT