Oil spill problems in south Trinidad; not us, says oil company

An oil spill in South Trinidad has caused devastation of several acres of prime agricultural land.

The thick, heavy crude has come from an oil line in the Oropouche lagoon in the communities of between Debe and Woodland. The crude has made its way into tributaries of nearby rivers and could be headed to the Gulf of Paria.

Earlier in the week fishermen at King's Wharf in San Fernando complained about an oil spill that caused the loss of thousands of dollars worth of fish, nets and clothing.

One farmer claimed to have traced the oil to its source and told reporters the crude was coming from a Petrotrin line. He said the state-owned oil company told him it did not have the equipment to go in there to stop the leak.

However Petrotrin issued a media release Wednesday saying that the oil was not coming from its operations. “Investigations so far have not established any link between the company’s operations and the oil-like substance,” the release said.

Agriculture Minister Vasant Bharath heard about the problem on Wednesday and said he plans to investigate.

“Some of the pictures I have seen show that there is extensive damage to certain crops and animals are affected as well.” He said he planned to speak with the Ministry of Energy as well as Petrotrin about the spill.