As Western oil and mining companies move back into Venezuela, satellite data reveals oil spills, toxic pollution and deforestation, exposing the environmental risks of renewed foreign investment
A new era of resource extraction in Venezuela
13 April marks 100 days since the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – an intervention explicitly driven by the desire to control Venezuelan resources.
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In these first 100 days, numerous Western oil, mining and commodities companies have looked to resume or expand resource extraction under the compliant regime of Delcy Rodriguez, after a series of sanctions licenses by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorised renewed dealings with Venezuela.
The political and economic challenges of these investments have been well documented. If they materialise, they will also have to contend with the vast legacy of environmental destruction associated with resource extraction in Venezuela.
No transparency on environmental harms
Venezuela is one of the only countries in Latin America not to have signed the Escazú Agreement, which seeks to guarantee public access to data and justice in environmental matters.
State oil and mining companies in the country publish no data on the environmental impacts of their operations. Independent satellite monitoring remains almost the only way to track these impacts.
Map on the right shows Escazú status of countries:RatifiedSignatoriesNon-signatories
A lake of oil from decrepit infrastructure
The state of Zulia is the historic heart of Venezuela’s oil production.
Numerous oil blocks surround Lake Maracaibo, where Western oil majors, including Chevron and Repsol, have historically operated concessions in joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
But PDVSA’s dilapidated oil infrastructure has been spewing oil into the lake and surrounding coasts for decades. These constant spills have turned Lake Maracaibo into a pool of oil, devastating local ecosystems and fishermen’s livelihoods.
Spilled oil and old machinery, Zulia, 2022. (Credit: Anastasia Austin)
Using SkyTruth’s “Cerulean”, a satellite tool for tracking ocean pollution, Global Witness has identified at least 504 potential oil slick detections in Lake Maracaibo alone since January 2025 until the end of March 2026. Added together, these detections cover a total area of 10,428.50 km² or roughly the size of Lebanon.
Most of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves lie in a band across the centre of the country known as the Orinoco Belt.
The US intervention has triggered a new flurry of interest in these largely unexploited reserves, with Western oil majors such as Chevron and Shell reportedly negotiating to launch or expand drilling operations in the region.
The Orinoco Belt’s ultra-heavy crude is among the most flare-intensive in the world, emitting vast amounts of methane in the refining process. The flare zone of the refinery cluster, located just west of the city of Maturin, appears at night more brightly than Venezuela’s major cities.
Satellite analysis shows that the average land temperate in this zone is elevated 5°C above the background level, while vegetation has been suppressed for all years on record.
Levels of the fine particulate matter PM2.5 that can be a result from flaring, shown here in red, are three times higher than the background level, well over WHO guidelines.
Deforestation and mercury poisoning from illegal mines
Venezuela’s main mineral reserves extend across the southern states of Bolívar and Amazonas. Since Maduro’s capture, US sanctions licences have authorised the trade of gold and other minerals from this region, despite extensive evidence that most production comes from irregular mines under control of non-state armed groups and senior figures in the Venezuelan military.
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In the last 25 years, large swathes of land have been deforested around these mining areas – some of which lie within protected forest reserves that act as a vital carbon sink.
This irregular mining leaves behind devastated landscapes and is associated with mercury poisoning of local river systems.
Satellite image of deforestation around the Las Claritas mining area, obtained from Planet.
No investment without environmental transparency
Proponents of Western resource deals in Venezuela claim that investment will improve infrastructure and environmental performance. But while companies are partnering with historic polluters and prioritising rapid production with no requirements to publish environmental data, these claims ring hollow.
Full environmental transparency must be a condition of any foreign resource investments in Venezuela. Without this, Western companies will be complicit in the escalating environmental destruction of the country.