CARACAS (AP) — Venezuela has reported that an oil spill originating from Trinidad and Tobago, which are neighboring islands, has resulted in considerable environmental harm along the coastlines of at least two Venezuelan states and in a nearby gulf area.
Trinidad and Tobago’s government contested the scale of the spill on Sunday, claiming that only 10 barrels were released and that it was contained on the same day it was identified on May 1.
In a letter to the international community issued late Saturday, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry stated that preliminary evaluations indicated “significant risks” to ecosystems in Sucre and Delta Amacuro states, as well as in the Gulf of Paria. The ministry highlighted the potential threat the spill poses to mangroves, wetlands, and the ecological balance of the area.
Additionally, the Venezuelan government has asked for information about the incident and for a plan to address and contain the spill, while also seeking compensation in line with international environmental regulations, as detailed in the official statement.
Venezuela did not specify when the spill was first identified or the total amount that was spilled.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the state oil company that detected the spill, did not publicize the incident until after Venezuela’s complaint. They expressed initial worries that the “hydrocarbon material could cross the Trinidad/Venezuelan border within the Gulf of Paria,” but mentioned that the spill was promptly contained.
Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, who established a delimitation treaty in the 1990s for exploiting hydrocarbon resources along their border, share the Gulf of Paria, an inland sea at Venezuela’s western end, south of Trinidad.
Trinidad and Tobago engages in extensive oil and gas exploration both onshore and in shallow marine areas, making it one of the largest producers in the Caribbean, as noted by the Ministry of Energy of Trinidad.