‘If this gas was used or sold, we’d have more money’
Issued on: 09/03/2026
Venezuela continues to burn natural gas produced as a byproduct of oil extraction in a process called gas flaring, which wastes a valuable resource and also has negative consequences for the environment and poses health risks. We spoke to people in Venezuela with knowledge of gas flaring and its effects in the northeast of the country, where the practice is particularly prominent.
"When you look at [satellite] images taken at night, the east of Venezuela is brighter than Caracas,” said one of our Observers, who previously worked in the oil sector.
You can indeed see a large luminous patch over the Venezuelan state of Monagas both in satellite images recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US government body, and on the website Open Infrastructure Map.
‘If this gas was used or sold, we’d have more money’
The high levels of gas flaring are mainly due to a lack of investment in equipment, says Gilberto Morillo, an energy consultant in Venezuela who previously worked for the public oil company PDVSA. He left in 2003, after an unprecedented wave of layoffs.
“When gas is produced alongside oil, you need specialised equipment if you want to capture it, store it, clean it, separate the liquid from the gas, etc. If you are able to gather it effectively, this gas can be used in many different ways. It can be used in industry or as domestic gas. It can also be injected into oil wells to increase their pressure or sold.
After 2003, PDVSA started to lose money and decline in a technical sense. The company didn’t invest in infrastructure to capture the gas. And if the gas isn’t captured and treated, then it needs to be burned [Editor’s note: otherwise, there is a risk of explosion]. Currently, I would say that about 50 percent of gas emitted during oil extraction is burned. That’s my own estimate because very little information is released by PDVSA and Venezuela’s oil ministry, but, in any case – that’s a huge amount of gas. Before, when I was working there, the percentage burned was closer to 10 percent [Editor’s note: a number that we were not able to independently verify].
Burning gas has economic consequences. If it were used or sold, we’d have more money.”
According to an investigation into PDVSA published in 2020 by the platform Connectas, the company loses "millions of dollars" when it burns the gas or releases it into the atmosphere without burning it – a practice more common in the west of the country.
Our Observer’s estimate that 50 percent of that gas is burned is close to the estimate made by an expert at Columbia University cited by the New York Times in this article.
Venezuela continues to burn natural gas produced as a byproduct of oil extraction in a process called gas flaring, which wastes a valuable resource and also has negative consequences for the environment and poses health risks. We spoke to people in Venezuela with knowledge of gas flaring and its effects in the northeast of the country, where the practice is particularly prominent.
"When you look at [satellite] images taken at night, the east of Venezuela is brighter than Caracas,” said one of our Observers, who previously worked in the oil sector.
You can indeed see a large luminous patch over the Venezuelan state of Monagas both in satellite images recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a US government body, and on the website Open Infrastructure Map.
In these satellite images, you can see the light emitted in the Venezuelan state of Monagas (outlined in blue). © NOAA NESDIS STAR, March 3, 2026 (at left) / Open Infrastructure Map (at right)
What are those patches of light?
"The gas that is burning there,” says our Observer.
In other words, the light that can be seen from the sky is the result of gas flaring, which involves burning the natural gas emitted during oil extraction. The gas, a valuable resource, is wasted in this process.
What are those patches of light?
"The gas that is burning there,” says our Observer.
In other words, the light that can be seen from the sky is the result of gas flaring, which involves burning the natural gas emitted during oil extraction. The gas, a valuable resource, is wasted in this process.
Two photos of the same site show gas flaring in the Venezuelan state of Monagas in late February 2026. © Images shared with our team
Our team also examined satellite images taken during the day and was able to spot at least 40 chimneys with flames coming out of them in Monagas state in 2025. These chimneys are actually the flares used in gas flaring.
Our team also examined satellite images taken during the day and was able to spot at least 40 chimneys with flames coming out of them in Monagas state in 2025. These chimneys are actually the flares used in gas flaring.
These yellow markers indicate where we spotted gas flares being used in Monagas state in Venezuela in 2025 by looking at images captured by Google Earth, Copernicus and Esri World Imagery Wayback. © FRANCE 24 Observers
According to a report from the World Bank, Venezuela is ranked as number 5 in the list of top gas-flaring countries in the world based on the total volume of gas burned, behind Russia, Iran, Iraq and the United States. However, if you consider the intensity of gas flaring – meaning the volume of gas flaring per barrel of oil extracted – Venezuela comes just second after Syria.
According to a report from the World Bank, Venezuela is ranked as number 5 in the list of top gas-flaring countries in the world based on the total volume of gas burned, behind Russia, Iran, Iraq and the United States. However, if you consider the intensity of gas flaring – meaning the volume of gas flaring per barrel of oil extracted – Venezuela comes just second after Syria.
‘If this gas was used or sold, we’d have more money’
The high levels of gas flaring are mainly due to a lack of investment in equipment, says Gilberto Morillo, an energy consultant in Venezuela who previously worked for the public oil company PDVSA. He left in 2003, after an unprecedented wave of layoffs.
“When gas is produced alongside oil, you need specialised equipment if you want to capture it, store it, clean it, separate the liquid from the gas, etc. If you are able to gather it effectively, this gas can be used in many different ways. It can be used in industry or as domestic gas. It can also be injected into oil wells to increase their pressure or sold.
After 2003, PDVSA started to lose money and decline in a technical sense. The company didn’t invest in infrastructure to capture the gas. And if the gas isn’t captured and treated, then it needs to be burned [Editor’s note: otherwise, there is a risk of explosion]. Currently, I would say that about 50 percent of gas emitted during oil extraction is burned. That’s my own estimate because very little information is released by PDVSA and Venezuela’s oil ministry, but, in any case – that’s a huge amount of gas. Before, when I was working there, the percentage burned was closer to 10 percent [Editor’s note: a number that we were not able to independently verify].
Burning gas has economic consequences. If it were used or sold, we’d have more money.”
According to an investigation into PDVSA published in 2020 by the platform Connectas, the company loses "millions of dollars" when it burns the gas or releases it into the atmosphere without burning it – a practice more common in the west of the country.
Our Observer’s estimate that 50 percent of that gas is burned is close to the estimate made by an expert at Columbia University cited by the New York Times in this article.
These photos of gas flaring were taken by a Venezuelan woman who lives in Punta de Mata, Monagas state, Venezuela. © Images shared with our team
‘Gas flaring produces CO2, which contributes to global warming’
Aside from financial losses, gas flaring also has consequences for health and the environment. In 2024, gas flaring generated the equivalent of 389 million tons of CO2, according to the report by the World Bank.
Fernando Morales is a professor and environmental expert at Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar University.
“In the east of the country, the wells produce a large amount of associated gas. Enormous volumes of gas are constantly being burned there, when, in theory, gas should only be burned in an emergency situation. This produces CO2, which leads to global warming.
At a local level, the burning of gas isn’t clean – it generates soot and polycyclic aromatic [hydrocarbons], [air pollutants] like benzo(a)pyrene, naphthalene and anthracene, which are really harmful if breathed in. They have a similar effect to the fumes released by a badly maintained diesel vehicle. Benzo(a)pyrene, in particular, is linked to lung cancer in cases of chronic exposure. Other components, while not known carcinogens, can also lead to other lung diseases or irritation."
A former resident of Maturín (the capital of Monagas state) who now lives abroad spoke to our team on condition of anonymity. They said they knew people who had experienced “cancer, breathing difficulty and eye irritation”, which she linked to the pollution generated by oil infrastructure.
In the investigation published in 2020 by Connectas, the president of the college of medicine in Anzoategui, a state that borders Monagas, said that there was a higher rate of respiratory illness in cities where the oil industry was in operation.
‘At night, there is a yellow light in the sky from the flares’
Flares are also linked to "light, sound and thermal pollution", says Carlos Piccinoni, another Maturín resident.
“In the day, you can only see the flames. But at night, there is a yellow light in the sky, which comes from flares located 30 kilometres from here. We notice it especially if there is a power cut in town. What we see is like a controlled fire in the sky. When you are close to it, you can almost drive without headlights on because there is so much light in the sky.
It’s also noisy for those who live nearby. The flares make a particular sound, something similar to a blowtorch. It’s like the sound of a gas burner, but one with a diameter of two metres. The heat is also very strong. I think it is probably about 10 degrees hotter nearby."
‘Gas flaring produces CO2, which contributes to global warming’
Aside from financial losses, gas flaring also has consequences for health and the environment. In 2024, gas flaring generated the equivalent of 389 million tons of CO2, according to the report by the World Bank.
Fernando Morales is a professor and environmental expert at Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar University.
“In the east of the country, the wells produce a large amount of associated gas. Enormous volumes of gas are constantly being burned there, when, in theory, gas should only be burned in an emergency situation. This produces CO2, which leads to global warming.
At a local level, the burning of gas isn’t clean – it generates soot and polycyclic aromatic [hydrocarbons], [air pollutants] like benzo(a)pyrene, naphthalene and anthracene, which are really harmful if breathed in. They have a similar effect to the fumes released by a badly maintained diesel vehicle. Benzo(a)pyrene, in particular, is linked to lung cancer in cases of chronic exposure. Other components, while not known carcinogens, can also lead to other lung diseases or irritation."
A former resident of Maturín (the capital of Monagas state) who now lives abroad spoke to our team on condition of anonymity. They said they knew people who had experienced “cancer, breathing difficulty and eye irritation”, which she linked to the pollution generated by oil infrastructure.
In the investigation published in 2020 by Connectas, the president of the college of medicine in Anzoategui, a state that borders Monagas, said that there was a higher rate of respiratory illness in cities where the oil industry was in operation.
‘At night, there is a yellow light in the sky from the flares’
Flares are also linked to "light, sound and thermal pollution", says Carlos Piccinoni, another Maturín resident.
“In the day, you can only see the flames. But at night, there is a yellow light in the sky, which comes from flares located 30 kilometres from here. We notice it especially if there is a power cut in town. What we see is like a controlled fire in the sky. When you are close to it, you can almost drive without headlights on because there is so much light in the sky.
It’s also noisy for those who live nearby. The flares make a particular sound, something similar to a blowtorch. It’s like the sound of a gas burner, but one with a diameter of two metres. The heat is also very strong. I think it is probably about 10 degrees hotter nearby."
The sky in Punta de Mata in Monagas state in Venezuela in late February 2026. © Images shared with our team
Piccinoni says that local people have faced domestic gas shortages in the past and that gas is expensive. Our team spoke to a former resident of Maturín, who now lives in Caracas:
“In 2017, we spent nine months without gas. At the time, I had neighbours who paid as much as $100 for a single cylinder of gas. And during that time, from my window, I could see the gas flares burning gas all day.”
Renewing the oil sector?
In late January, less than a month after the United States seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan parliament approved a reform to its hydrocarbons law under pressure from the United States. As a result of the new law, which favours the private sector, the US removed a number of sanctions.
Both Gilberto Morillo and Fernando Morales say these measures should result in the oil sector receiving more money, which could allow it to modernise its infrastructures and increase production, as well as reduce flaring.
"If all the investments come in, then my colleagues and I estimate that we could be producing three million barrels of oil per day in eight or nine years,” Morillo says – a number that would be three times the current amount produced.
This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.
BY:
The FRANCE 24 Observers
Chloé LAUVERGNIER
Piccinoni says that local people have faced domestic gas shortages in the past and that gas is expensive. Our team spoke to a former resident of Maturín, who now lives in Caracas:
“In 2017, we spent nine months without gas. At the time, I had neighbours who paid as much as $100 for a single cylinder of gas. And during that time, from my window, I could see the gas flares burning gas all day.”
Renewing the oil sector?
In late January, less than a month after the United States seized Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan parliament approved a reform to its hydrocarbons law under pressure from the United States. As a result of the new law, which favours the private sector, the US removed a number of sanctions.
Both Gilberto Morillo and Fernando Morales say these measures should result in the oil sector receiving more money, which could allow it to modernise its infrastructures and increase production, as well as reduce flaring.
"If all the investments come in, then my colleagues and I estimate that we could be producing three million barrels of oil per day in eight or nine years,” Morillo says – a number that would be three times the current amount produced.
This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.
BY:
The FRANCE 24 Observers
Chloé LAUVERGNIER
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