Venezuela Denies Responsibility for Oil Spills on Brazilian Coastline

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a statement released yesterday morning, the oil company PDVSA said there is no evidence of oil spills in Venezuela’s oil fields that could have impacted Brazil’s Northeastern region, causing damage to the marine ecosystem.

“We reiterate that we have not received any report in which our clients and/or subsidiaries have reported a possible malfunction or leak near the Brazilian coast, which is approximately 6,650 km away from our oil facilities, by sea”, states PDVSA.

Also yesterday, the Minister of Oil of Venezuela, Manuel Quevedo, ruled out the possibility that PDVSA or the Venezuelan State could have any responsibility for the oil reaching the Brazilian coast.

In Brasília, during an ordinary meeting of the National Environment Council (CONAMA) held yesterday, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles reiterated that Brazilian authorities are still unaware of the oil’s source, although, according to him, the results of technical analyses conducted by Petrobras suggest “compatibility” between the waste collected on the northeastern coast and Venezuelan oil.

“The Navy has pinpointed all the ships that have traveled along the Brazilian coast and is investigating which one may have spilled the oil into the sea,” said the minister, mentioning one of the three main scenarios to explain the source of the substance: an accidental spill on some unidentified vessel; a criminal spill for unknown reasons; or the potential cleaning of a vessel’s hold.

“What we do know is that the oil is not Brazilian. And that the sample matching is compatible with a Venezuelan oil spill in the past. In other words, everything suggests that it is Venezuelan oil. How this oil reached our coast is the main investigation,” Salles said, referring to the investigations carried out by the Federal Police (PF), the Navy and environmental bodies.

In a note sent to Agência Brasil, the Environment Ministry explained that the mark of Venezuelan oil source is based on laboratory analysis. The ministry, however, explains that no authority or public official has stated that the case is the responsibility of the Venezuelan state or of PDVSA.

“The assumption is that it may have been spilled from ships that traveled along the Brazilian coast, and not necessarily from fields of the dictatorial Venezuelan government,” said the minister.

Source: Agência Brasil