THE VENEZUELAN NATIONAL OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN

Abstract

ABSTRACT A national contingency plan has been developed to contend with oil spills which may originate from offshore operations and tanker traffic in the waters off Venezuela from the Gulf of Venezuela to the Orinoco Delta. The plan was prepared for the Venezuelan oil industry which is made up of Petroleos de Venezuela, a holding company of the nationalized Venezuelan oil industry, and its affiliated companies, Lagoven S.A., Maraven S.A., Corpoven S.A., and Meneven S.A. The plan is based on an assessment of existing human and environmental material resources, the establishment of the operational capabilities of these resources, an overview of existing environmental data, and field programs which identified areas of special concern and filled environmental data gaps. Ideas and information were exchanged frequently between the contractors and representatives of the affiliated companies of Petroleos de Venezuela during the formulation of the plan. In the process of developing the national plan, an interim plan was prepared. The resulting final plan consists of a set of manuals with precise and detailed procedures to follow in case of a spill, an auxiliary set of manuals containing technical information to support the detailed instructions, and instructions on the implementation of the plan and training of personnel. An essential part is the production of 60 sensitivity charts describing the Venezuelan coast. The Venezuelan oil industry is in the privileged position of not only having a master national oil spill contingency plan but also having available the experience to carry out the plan due to everyday experience accumulated in cleanup operations on Lake Maracaibo. The Venezuelan National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is expected to serve as a model for future Caribbean plans.