NABEP Replaces Decades-Old Steel Lines with 1,149 Kilometers of New Pipe on Lake Maracaibo

BACHAQUERO, Venezuela, Nov. 9, 2026 /CNW/ -- North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) has installed 1,149 kilometers of new flexible pipe on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo since beginning operations there in 2024. The pipe replaces aging steel lines, which have been a main source of leaks that have damaged the lake for decades.

Lake Maracaibo at sunset

Flexible pipe with protective layers resists the corrosion associated with old steel. Laid in continuous sections from barges, it has fewer joints where leaks typically start. NABEP also repaired critical sections of 12-inch oil and gas trunk lines this year by installing nearly four kilometers of new steel pipe.

Lake Maracaibo's pollution problem dates to the early 1900s. Decades of intensive production, inadequate maintenance and underinvestment left most of the lake's estimated 25,000 kilometers of underwater pipeline corroding. In 2021, a Simón Bolívar University scientist told NASA's Earth Observatory that most of the pipelines were 50 years old. NASA has also cited estimates of 40,000 to 50,000 oil leaks and spills across Venezuela between 2010 and 2016 alone.

NABEP inherited part of that network in 2024 and made replacing it a priority. Rather than patching old lines section by section, the company is replacing each well's lines entirely. The program has run new flow and gas lines to 435 wells in the Bachaquero and Ceuta fields. Of those, 301 are already producing through the new pipe, with about 52,000 barrels of oil a day now flowing from the wellhead through new lines. The remaining wells have their new lines in place and will produce through them when they come back online.

"Decades of neglect have left oil on Lake Maracaibo's shores and fishing families struggling to make a living from its waters," said NABEP CEO Alejandro Betancourt. "Cleanups alone can't keep up while old pipes keep leaking, so we're reinvesting in a lasting fix: replacing the corroded lines we inherited, one by one. We are working steadily to replace the graveyard of rusted equipment and oil slicks we see today with modern infrastructure built to the highest safety and environmental standards. We're committed to being good stewards of this lake and good neighbors to the communities that depend on it."

The work continues. NABEP has 176 kilometers of new pipe in storage, 791 more in transit, and plans to lay about 3,400 additional kilometers, including new lines connecting 144 wells to the Bachaquero 3 compressor plant. The program is part of broader efforts to clean up and restore Lake Maracaibo.

About North American Blue Energy Partners

North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) is an independent oil exploration and production company operating in North and Latin America, with offices in Caracas, Maracaibo and Lechería. NABEP is committed to the responsible development of energy resources, the safety of its people and the prosperity of the communities where it operates. www.nabep.net

Media contact: [email protected] 

SOURCE North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP)