Venezuela Expands Coal Production Despite Environmental Concerns and Search for Revenue

In a bid to boost revenue amid ongoing U.S. sanctions, Venezuela has resumed coal production through a partnership with a Turkish company and is aiming to export more than 10 million tonnes of fuel this year, according to company insiders.

However, people familiar with the operations — including company sources, Indigenous leaders, and local residents — say mining is being carried out without proper environmental safeguards, leading to air and water pollution in surrounding communities.

The Venezuelan government recently reported an 8.7% economic growth rate for the third quarter, even as many international companies have withdrawn from the crisis-hit nation. Inflation is projected to reach nearly 200% this year, and foreign oil firms must obtain U.S. licenses to operate.

Coal, however, remains exempt from the sanctions, allowing the reactivation of Carboturven, a joint venture between state-owned Carbozulia and Turkish firm Glenmore Dis Ticaret ve Madencilik A.S.

This renewed focus on coal marks another attempt by President Nicolás Maduro’s government to diversify the OPEC member’s economy away from oil dependency. It also underscores how Venezuela remains an outlier in Latin America, as countries like Chile pivot toward renewable energy.

Coal: A Lifeline for the Treasury

Earlier this year, Maduro declared, “It’s time to work together to build a happier nation,” asserting that increased coal production would help accelerate economic growth.

Carbozulia first established its partnership with Glenmore in 2018. According to five company sources, operations at the Paso Diablo and Mina Norte coal mines in the northwest resumed in late December 2024 after several years of inactivity.

Maduro has also approved plans to develop another coal project in Falcón State.

Carbozulia data shows that Venezuela’s coal output reached about 3 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2025 — putting the country on track to surpass early-2000s levels of 8 million tonnes per year. Most of Venezuela’s high-energy, low-ash coal is exported.

An employee at Paso Diablo, speaking anonymously, said Venezuela ships raw coal to Turkey, which then sells it to European buyers. The goal, he added, is to export 10 million metric tonnes annually.

However, he noted that recent attacks by U.S. military vessels in the Caribbean have disrupted shipments. Production was halted a week ago due to a lack of storage space after exports were suspended.

Neither the Venezuelan government nor Carbozulia responded to repeated requests for comment. Reuters was also unable to reach Carboturven or its Turkish partner, which does not maintain a website.

Trade tracker Import Genius lists Glenmore as a registered exporter of bituminous coal from Palmarito in Zulia State.

Environmental Concerns Grow

Local environmental groups, including the non-profit Sociedad Homo et Natura, report that mining operations are contaminating the Guasare River with sulfates, lead, cadmium, cyanide, and mercury.

These organizations say at least 12 Indigenous and farming communities have been displaced in recent years due to mining activity, and fear that expanding operations will drive even more people from their homes.

“They are trying to take control of everything they can,” said Lusbi Portillo, coordinator of Sociedad Homo et Natura and an Indigenous leader.

An environmental report by Carbozulia, reviewed by Reuters, listed mitigation measures such as runoff treatment, emission control, dust suppression, and sprinklers for coal stockpiles and conveyor belts. However, it remains unclear whether any of these safeguards are currently in use.

A worker at Paso Diablo said environmental monitoring has lapsed. “Each community used to have monitors tracking contamination levels,” he explained, “but they are no longer operational.”

Residents near the mines report that coal dust is damaging their crops and homes.

“You can’t live here anymore,” said an elderly woman from a nearby community in a phone interview. “There’s coal on our plants, in our houses, on our clothes, even in our water — and we get nothing from it.”

She shared photographs showing soot-covered homes, drinking water containers stained black, and people’s feet coated in coal dust.

“We are poor communities living off our goats,” said another Indigenous resident from La Guajira. “But the animals are dying from the dust. We live in deep poverty, surrounded by coal wealth.”