Major oil spills (200,000 barrels) in Venezuela, flowing into Caribbean.

[GatoGordo]

PdVSA confirma derrame de crudo en área de almacenamiento de la refinería Amuay (PDVSA confirms oil spill in storage area of ​​Amuay refinery)

MARACAY, Venezuela, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that it was overflowing crude from a storage area at its Amuay refinery and reached a bay adjacent to the unit, to the west. from the country.

Two workers and a union leader had informed Reuters that one of the waste tanks of Venezuela's largest refinery was exceeded this week and some of the crude reached the Bay of Amuay, staining several ships.

PDVSA reported in its report that it had begun the work for "the collection of the product with absorbent material and vacuum trucks, as well as the placement of barriers that prevent the displacement of crude oil."

-snip-

http://www.panorama.com.ve/politicayeconomia/Pdvsa-confirma-derrame-de-crudo-en-area-de-almacenamiento-de-la-refineria-Amuay-20171031-0090.html

Oil-stained tankers are not allowed to sail in international waters because they can generate pollution.

PDVSA did not report in the statement about any impact of the spill on the ships. (Because if Chavismo doesn't report it, it didn't happen!)

FYI: There is a dearth of products to absorb Heavy Sour crude/sludge that Venezuela pumps out, as Chavismo refuses to pay companies for their products. They also have very few (if any) operating "vacuum trucks" and they have no where to put this waste, as all of their waste holding tanks, as mentioned, are FULL TO OVERFLOWING.

[FBaggins]

1. How the heck do they have overflowing storage at a refinery?

That oil is just about the only hard asset the country has left. It needs to sell or use every drop that it can get.

[GatoGordo]

2. They can't pump it. Its too thick (Heavy Sour). Can't get it to tankers, nor to refineries.

They need various thinners to be able to pump it, but they can't purchase it because they haven't been paying their bills to Schumacher and Halliburton. These companies also provide oilfield services (maintenance)... but again, Chavismo hasn't been paying, so the oil infrastructure is rotting. They are pumping at about 20%, and each month they pump less.

All of this when Chavez fired every single professional oil industry worker in 2003 and replaced them with Chavistas. What used to be done by well paid, middle class Venezuelans was outsourced when these workers moved to Mexico, Brazil and the United States. Now, nobody does anything in the Venezuela oil fields. In a country with the worlds largest proven reserves of oil, they can't pump their oil.

Tomorrow is another big payday for Maduro. The money is running out.

[GatoGordo]

3. More blame from Maduro

"Maduro’s government says a right-wing business elite is out to smear PDVSA and insists the company upholds strict environmental norms."



He also blamed "right-wing nurses" for the bad press Chavismo received when photographic proof showed women giving birth on filthy hospital corridor floors and in waiting room benches.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-update-1-venezuela-amuay-refinery-tank-spills-cleanup-started--pdvsa-2017-10

Over 1/2 of Venezuelan tankers cannot make port and offload at various refineries because their hulls are filthy with oil and oil products.