Notable case, Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela
Lake Maracaibo
Lago de Maracaibo
A large lake in north-western Venezuela exploited for oil since 1922: about 14,000 wells drilled and more than 24,000 km of pipelines on the lake floor, most of them old and leaking.
At a glance
- Status
- Not addressed
- Area
- 1,351,200 ha in water1
- Activity
- since 1922
- Media
- surface water, sediment, living organisms
- Kind of site
- oil
- Area. Lake surface: 13,512 km². The hydrocarbon-bearing area covers about 1,300 km².
Contaminants
Organic compounds
Other inorganics
Status
Not addressed
Much of the oil infrastructure is about half a century old and the underwater pipelines leak widely. The sources consulted report no cleanup plan and no recent data: the record needs completing.
Story
Oil was discovered in 1914, the first well dates from 1917 and large-scale exploitation began in 1922. More than 24,000 km of oil and gas pipelines criss-cross the lake floor, and leaks from the ageing pipes are widespread. To these are added sewage, agricultural and industrial discharges, plastic waste and, more recently, coal mining.
Dredging of the navigation channel, completed in 1957, let seawater in: salinity rose about tenfold in the north and three- to fivefold in the south, whereas before the 1950s the water was fit for domestic use. In 2004, after heavy spring rains, a duckweed bloom came to cover 18% of the lake and lasted up to eight months.
Timeline
- 1914Oil discovered.
- 1922Large-scale exploitation begins.
- 1957Dredging of the navigation channel completed.
- 2004Duckweed bloom covers 18% of the lake.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Festuca arundinaceaTall fescuePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Lolium perennePerennial ryegrassPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Medicago sativaAlfalfa, lucernePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
- Paulownia tomentosaPrincess tree, empress treePetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: field
Fungi
- Gloeophyllum trabeumPlastics and microplasticsEvidence: laboratory
- Pestalotiopsis microsporaPlastics and microplasticsEvidence: laboratory
- Pleurotus pulmonariusPhoenix oyster, Indian oysterPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
- Scedosporium apiospermumPetroleum hydrocarbonsEvidence: laboratory
Sources
- Lake Maracaibo, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.