Fuel Shortages Stall Venezuela Rescue Efforts as Cranes Sit Idle

Heavy machinery and rescue workers in search of survivors in destroyed buildings in Los Corales, La Guaira state, Venezuela on July 1. Photo by Bloomberg /Source: Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Excavators and cranes ground to a halt at some rescue sites in Venezuela as fuel shortages hampered recovery efforts after last week’s earthquake, leaving crews unable to clear debris in some of the hardest-hit areas of La Guaira state.

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“There is no fuel, the machines are stopped since yesterday,” said Ariana Requena, who is trying to find her mother and brother in the rubble of Roca Park, a residential building that collapsed in La Guaira. Her grandparents’ bodies were recovered earlier this week.

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The diesel shortages have emerged as a new obstacle to Venezuela’s rescue effort a week after the quakes, exposing the country’s deteriorating fuel system even as authorities increasingly rely on private construction and engineering companies to provide heavy machinery and technical crews for operations.

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“We had to raise hell yesterday because the machines stopped at 3 in the afternoon,” Requena said. “It’s really important that we’re able to move forward.”

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Petróleos de Venezuela, known as PDVSA, ordered the Puerto La Cruz refiner to boost diesel production three days after the earthquake to supply excavators, cranes and trucks involved in rescue operations and aid deliveries, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

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Many roads in La Guaira are damaged or blocked due to rescue efforts, and cellphone service remains limited, further complicating fuel distribution, a person with knowledge of the situation said. 

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A PDVSA press official did not respond to a request for comment on fuel supply plans following the earthquakes. 

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Officials from the energy ministry visited the main fuel distribution terminal in Catia La Mar, La Guaira, on Thursday to address the shortages. 

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“We’re on the ground making sure that assistance reaches every location and that there’s no shortage of fuel or diesel needed to power the machinery required for the response,” Energy Minister Paula Henao said on state television. PDVSA unloaded a shipment of 1.5 million liters from the Paraguaná refining hub, she said.

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The country’s refining system has deteriorated after years of underinvestment, mismanagement and repeated refinery accidents, leaving chronic fuel shortages across the country. Drivers routinely wait in long lines or pay higher prices on the black market.

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“Diesel is not just a fuel issue in a disaster response, it is an operating constraint across the entire rescue system,” said Neil Osnato, founder of infrastructure risk analytics firm Persistence Analytics Group. “If diesel is scarce, generators, ambulances, water pumps, debris-removal equipment, communications backup, hospital support” and more all start competing for the same limited input, Osnato added.

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A blast late last year at a fuel-processing unit in the Jose petrochemical complex in Anzoategui state further disrupted diesel production, one of the people said. PDVSA’s fuel production and distribution network stretches along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast and includes refineries, ports, fuel terminals and distribution plants.

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