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
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