Venezuela has the world’s largest crude oil reserves. But decaying infrastructure means it has to import fuel from Iran. And the poor quality of this fuel can cause vehicles to overheat and catch fire or even explode.
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00:00Why is Venezuela the country with the world's largest proven crude oil reserves suffering through a fuel shortage?
00:08Drivers queue for hours sometimes overnight just for a chance to fill their tanks
00:13But the gasoline they finally procure isn't just scarce. It's potentially lethal
00:18Capable of turning their vehicles into ticking time bombs
00:23Welcome to Venezuela where cars explode and gasoline is the fuel of misery
00:30Venezuela struck black gold in the 1920s over time
00:34It went from one of the poorest countries in the region to the richest in South America
00:39with the economy driven by oil money, Venezuela prospered
00:44Until crude oil prices dropped the switch from capitalism to socialism in the late 90s
00:51Further plunged the country into economic turmoil
00:54Venezuela has the capacity to serve its own fuel needs
00:58But with the country's refineries in poor condition
01:01Petroleum imports from Iran are mitigating the shortages
01:04But the questionable quality of the fuel means the life of the average Venezuelan isn't easy
01:13The truth is that I don't know where I'm going to get the money because I can't earn enough to keep a car and
01:17Have food in my fridge
01:21Once we queued for fuel for 10 hours, we arrived at 3 a.m. And left at 4 p.m. It's not easy
01:28Then in 2018 or 2019 four refineries were totally paralyzed
01:41Nelly Ana Carrasco is on a mission to find out why her car keeps failing
01:45She's one of the many victims of the poor quality fuel the country contends with
01:50Today, she's taking her car to a garage for a checkup
01:54Having a car in Venezuela is really hard and expensive
01:59Because the car sometimes fails to start several components on the car are damaged like the fuel pump, for example
02:09I'm praying that if one of those components has an issue the battery or the fuel pump, it won't be completely damaged
02:20And that the car doesn't catch on fire
02:24Yama
02:27She's hoping her trusted mechanic role will help diagnose the issues with the car
02:35It lacks power going uphill and I think one piston isn't working only three out of four are working
02:44Raul gets to work the cylinders and the spark plugs though a little worn passes inspection
02:51He then checks over the rest of the engine but finds that it's in decent shape still Nelly Ana knows something is wrong with her car
03:01The car starts making noises as if he wants to turn off
03:05We have to check the fuel system to see how the filters are because the problem doesn't seem to be here
03:13How much will the fuel pump cost
03:16The cost of the fuel pump is $20 plus $40 labor
03:26Okay, so you're telling me that it's a minimum of $70
03:31Yes, at least $70 what if it's the complete pump package
03:39If it's the complete pump package
03:41It costs a hundred and twenty dollars. It comes with the whole system the pump and the float
03:48The news is disheartening
03:50Nelly Ana's resources are stretched thin and spending a hundred and twenty dollars on replacing the entire fuel system is something
03:57She just can't afford
04:02The truth is that I don't know where I'm going to get the money because I can't earn enough to keep a car and
04:07Have food in my fridge
04:10In 2020 the Venezuelan government announced imports of oil from Iran with the price capped at 50 cents per liter
04:16But as time went by the prices rose while the quality dropped
04:21Gilberto Morillo a former finance manager at the state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA has his theories about what happened
04:32When the great crisis came that was when the Iranian ships arrived
04:36We were without gasoline in the whole country and we're expecting a lot from the ships
04:41The gasoline was distributed for a few days, but there was always doubt about the quality
04:46Octane is one factor
04:50Octane is what ensures the fuel doesn't explode under pressure, but only when the spark plug sparks
04:59But if the octane is low
05:01When it is under pressure inside the engine that causes it to detonate to explode
05:10But even for those whose cars are currently running fine procuring fuel is time-consuming
05:17Dami is a chauffeur who hopes that a midnight quest will lead him to a full tank of gas
05:26It's 10 minutes to 3 a.m.
05:29I'm heading to the service station to get gas
05:35Well, let's hope I get to leave early and don't have to wait so many hours there for fuel
05:45He's heading to a gas station where residents can get subsidized fuel on certain days determined by their license plate number
05:52Despite the cars queuing ahead of him Dami has seen worse and he's optimistic
05:59Today it's short
06:03Today I came at 3 a.m. And the line is really not very long. I
06:09Should be out of here at about 7 a.m
06:13Let's say it takes four or five hours or sometimes six or seven one time it took like 10 hours
06:19We arrived at 3 a.m. And left at 4 p.m. I mean, it's not easy. It's all about luck
06:26Dami could have bought fuel from a station without a long queue
06:30But fuel there would be sold at international market prices in US dollars something not all Venezuelans can afford
06:39For Dami the hours of inching closer to his goal are the only way to ensure his car has a full tank of gas
06:50Well, it's going to be 6 a.m
06:53We're not far away
06:55about 10 or 12 cars
06:59Then I can go back home and rest a little in the early morning to get my energy back
07:09Dami finally reaches the pump. It's too dangerous to film for long
07:12The stations are run by the army or paramilitary groups who often demand bribes just to fill up but for this weary
07:19Venezuelan its mission accomplished
07:23No
07:24Well, we're coming out of the gas station. We managed to fill up the tank. It's half past 6 in the morning. Thank God
07:35The severe fuel shortage and the poor quality of fuel are a far cry from when the country's oil industry was thriving
07:45Well, let's first remember that around
07:471998 or 99 petrolios de Venezuela was ranked as the second best oil company in the world
07:54but between 2002 and
07:562003 clashes between the Chavez led government and PDVSA led to oil production dropping. It was the beginning of the end
08:06Many plants were failing so you didn't have 40 plants operating you had 30 or 20
08:12Then in 2018 or 2019 the four refineries were totally paralyzed and there were no fully functional refineries at all
08:22It's all resulted in a situation of daily struggle for people like Nelliana today she's off to have her fuel pump examined by an expert
08:32Freddie Moreno has worked with fuel pumps for over 10 years in the past five
08:37He's seen more and more problems caused by low quality gasoline
08:42The fuel nozzles overheat it moves up to the nozzles on top
08:45Overheats and the car ignites when the oxygen enters the car doesn't explode but it will catch on fire
08:52Freddie inspects the fuel pump on Nelliana's car and the results are just as she feared
09:01Okay, we're doing the check but look here you have a burnt connector
09:07It's had its time and there's nothing more that can be done
09:15New pump, new fuel pump module you have to buy a new one
09:23Nelliana has to try and replace the entire unit or give up on her car entirely
09:28But as luck will have it it's the car that gives up on her
09:32The car failed again it didn't want to start the mechanic told me it's the complete fuel pump because of the gasoline
09:41I have to wait for it to cool down to see if I can get home and see if it can be fixed
09:48I'm going to sell the car
09:51I can't go on in this situation where every five minutes I break down because of the gasoline
09:56That's what it's like to have a car in Venezuela with this worthless gasoline
10:02Owning a car in Venezuela is both a necessity and a burden
10:08While Dami hopes that his tank of gas will last until he's allowed to refuel the following week
10:13Nelliana is confronted with a tough decision
10:16Can she really afford to run a car that constantly needs repairing?
10:20Like many Venezuelans they suffer the consequences of poor supply and low quality fuel
10:25Seemingly with no end in sight