Oil spill reported off Venezuela's Caribbean coast

An oil spill, which appeared to originate from Venezuela's El Palito refinery several days ago, has contaminated a bay off the country's north-central coast in the Caribbean Sea, five sources told Reuters on Saturday.

Biologist Eduardo Klein posted satellite images on X that he said showed an oil slick of about 225 square kilometres (87 square miles) in the Golfe Triste and completely covering Morrocoy National Park, known for beaches lined with palm trees and mangroves.

There was no immediate comment from the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela PDVSA or the oil ministry. 

The El Palito refinery, with a capacity to process 146,000 barrels of crude oil per day, is Venezuela's smallest oil refining complex and located in the Puerto Cabello municipality on the coast of the central state of Carabobo.

"The spill came from El Palito. This morning some beaches in Boca de Aroa woke up with a lot of hydrocarbons on the shore and it affected some boats, some artisanal fishing boats," one of the sources told Reuters.

Another source said he saw three large oil slicks that washed ashore.