Post by scumbuster on Aug 12, 2020 8:07:18 GMT -5
Venezuela Has No Gas, No Water & No Money But Plenty of Devastating Oil Spills
CARACAS -- At least four separate oil spills have taken place in Venezuela in the last two weeks, with one of them reaching the beautiful Morrocoy national park Tuesday, just as the gasoline shortage in this oil-rich country deepens.
Monday night, the embattled Nicolas Maduro regime admitted what has for days been unofficially reported: eight of Morrocoy’s eleven keys and small islands have been hit by the spill.
Josue Lorca, the Deputy Minister for “Eco-socialism”, claimed that more than 10 kilometers of beaches had been cleaned by some 1,200 workers and volunteers.
Lorca also said that workers have been cleaning the beaches for at least eight days, but it was only over the weekend when pictures of clean-up ops began emerging in government media.
COVER UP BEFORE CLEAN UP
Over the weekend, the Maduro Regime run state oil firm PDVSA began cleaning up operations in affected, oil-slick beaches, after failing to contain the spill at sea with booms and other barriers.
“It took them two weeks to tend to that oil spill,” according to local media RunRunes.
National Assembly President Juan Guaido said an overflowing by-products trench at the El Palito refinery was the reason for the spill. But oil industry sources say ship-to-ship siphoning of oil meant for Cuba could also be the cause.
The OAS Commissioner for the crisis of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, David Smolansky, questioned the alleged repairs of El Palito Refinery with which the dictatorship justified the transfer of Venezuelan gold to Iran after an oil spill occurred that has caused irreparable damage to the Morrocoy National Park ecosystem.
“Hadn’t the Iranians had been called to do some ‘repair work’ at the El Palito refinery paid for with the gold of all Venezuelans?” Smolansky asked, calling it an "ecocide." “Well, it seems they took the gold and left the oil spill in Morrocoy.”
By August 3rd, the spill hitting Morrocoy was an international scandal. However, PDVSA only responded on August 8th. During that time frame, similar, smaller events took place at other locations. By August 5th, it was said to cover 4 kilometers, but now the slick is estimated as covering an area of about 68 kilometers.
Geographically, the spill is very visible even by satellite, affecting the Caribbean coast of Central Venezuela from Tucacas, a once pristine beach in Falcon, to Puerto Cabello, a major port city in Carabobo state.
Oil export and refining operations, already severely impacted by an acute drop in production, will suffer because of the spill, as ships cannot sail through an oil slick for security reasons. Falcon and Carabobo are home to some of the largest oil refineries in the Western Hemisphere, such as CRP and El Palito.
Vessel-locating service Tanker Trackers was amongst the first to alert about the seriousness of the situation, as state media continued to ignore the spill: by Monday the stain was covering an area of more than 68 square kilometers in what experts are already calling the biggest such oil incident in Venezuelan history.
Meanwhile, while oil was spilling, subsidized gasoline at Bs 5,000 a liter (that’s two cents, US) is no longer available in most gas stations, so motorists have to go to “international” gas stations and pay prices of $0.50 a liter if they want to fill up.
And while spills are routine for state oil company PDVSA -- particularly under the administration of Maduro and his mentor and predecessor Hugo Chavez -- the latest disasters were no ordinary spills: they soiled a beloved national park which was only reachable by boat.
Meanwhile, the Maduro Regime continues to ship oil and fuel to Cuba even as Venezuela goes without -- and for which the Iranians were paid tens of millions in gold.
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2494429&CategoryId=10717
CARACAS -- At least four separate oil spills have taken place in Venezuela in the last two weeks, with one of them reaching the beautiful Morrocoy national park Tuesday, just as the gasoline shortage in this oil-rich country deepens.
Monday night, the embattled Nicolas Maduro regime admitted what has for days been unofficially reported: eight of Morrocoy’s eleven keys and small islands have been hit by the spill.
Josue Lorca, the Deputy Minister for “Eco-socialism”, claimed that more than 10 kilometers of beaches had been cleaned by some 1,200 workers and volunteers.
Lorca also said that workers have been cleaning the beaches for at least eight days, but it was only over the weekend when pictures of clean-up ops began emerging in government media.
COVER UP BEFORE CLEAN UP
Over the weekend, the Maduro Regime run state oil firm PDVSA began cleaning up operations in affected, oil-slick beaches, after failing to contain the spill at sea with booms and other barriers.
“It took them two weeks to tend to that oil spill,” according to local media RunRunes.
National Assembly President Juan Guaido said an overflowing by-products trench at the El Palito refinery was the reason for the spill. But oil industry sources say ship-to-ship siphoning of oil meant for Cuba could also be the cause.
The OAS Commissioner for the crisis of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, David Smolansky, questioned the alleged repairs of El Palito Refinery with which the dictatorship justified the transfer of Venezuelan gold to Iran after an oil spill occurred that has caused irreparable damage to the Morrocoy National Park ecosystem.
“Hadn’t the Iranians had been called to do some ‘repair work’ at the El Palito refinery paid for with the gold of all Venezuelans?” Smolansky asked, calling it an "ecocide." “Well, it seems they took the gold and left the oil spill in Morrocoy.”
By August 3rd, the spill hitting Morrocoy was an international scandal. However, PDVSA only responded on August 8th. During that time frame, similar, smaller events took place at other locations. By August 5th, it was said to cover 4 kilometers, but now the slick is estimated as covering an area of about 68 kilometers.
Geographically, the spill is very visible even by satellite, affecting the Caribbean coast of Central Venezuela from Tucacas, a once pristine beach in Falcon, to Puerto Cabello, a major port city in Carabobo state.
Oil export and refining operations, already severely impacted by an acute drop in production, will suffer because of the spill, as ships cannot sail through an oil slick for security reasons. Falcon and Carabobo are home to some of the largest oil refineries in the Western Hemisphere, such as CRP and El Palito.
Vessel-locating service Tanker Trackers was amongst the first to alert about the seriousness of the situation, as state media continued to ignore the spill: by Monday the stain was covering an area of more than 68 square kilometers in what experts are already calling the biggest such oil incident in Venezuelan history.
Meanwhile, while oil was spilling, subsidized gasoline at Bs 5,000 a liter (that’s two cents, US) is no longer available in most gas stations, so motorists have to go to “international” gas stations and pay prices of $0.50 a liter if they want to fill up.
And while spills are routine for state oil company PDVSA -- particularly under the administration of Maduro and his mentor and predecessor Hugo Chavez -- the latest disasters were no ordinary spills: they soiled a beloved national park which was only reachable by boat.
Meanwhile, the Maduro Regime continues to ship oil and fuel to Cuba even as Venezuela goes without -- and for which the Iranians were paid tens of millions in gold.
www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2494429&CategoryId=10717