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Venezuela
"Maracaibo, Venezuela"
My hotel is Best Western , Puerto Viejo Airport Inn , Av. Principal , Catia La Mar.
2,5 Km Aeroporto Int. Simon Bolivar 107 Suites , I pay Us$ 128 day
The first European to discover the lake was Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, on a voyage with Amerigo Vespucci. The port town of Maracaibo was founded in 1529 on the western side the lake.
In July of 1823, the lake was the site of Battle of Lake Maracaibo, an important battle in the Venezuelan War of Independence.
Oil production began in the surrounding basin in 1914, with wells drilled by Bataafsche Petroleum Me, a precessor of Royal Dutch Shell.
On April 6, 1964, at 11:45 pm, the supertanker Esso Maracaibo, loaded with 236,000 barrels of crude oil hit pier # 31 of the 2-year-old General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge that connects Maracaibo with much of the rest of Venezuela. The vessel had recently been loaded with oil, and lost steering due to a major electrical failure onboard, which lead to the collision. A 259 metre section of the bridge roadway fell into the water with a portion coming to rest across the tanker just a few feet from the ship's superstructure. The bridge damage lead to the deaths of seven people whose vehicles fell off of the damaged area. Amazingly, there was no loss of life or serious injury on the tanker. No oil spill occurred.
"Lake of Petrolelum...."
Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America, lies within Zulia. The Lake Maracaibo Basin covers one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the western hemisphere, bringing enormous wealth to the country. A long and mostly uninhabited border separates Venezuela from Colombia to the north and west from the Guajira Peninsula to the mountains of Perijá. Venezuela's Andean states of Tachira, Mérida and Trujillo border Zulia State at the Southern end of Lake Maracaibo and finally the states of Lara and Falcón complete the boundaries of Zulia.
The name Venezuela also comes from the Lake Maracaibo area. Spanish Conquistadors sailing into this area found the indigenous peoples living in communities of huts supported by stilts along the shores of the Lake over 500 years ago and promptly named this new territory "Little Venice" (Pequeña Venecia) or Venezuela.
"Maney of the Loucochaves.."
The petroleum sector dominates Venezuela's mixed economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of exports, and more than half of government revenues. The country's main petroleum deposits are located around and beneath Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The oil sector operates through the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), whose subsidiaries include the distributor CITGO. Other major exports are bauxite and aluminum, steel, petrochemicals, and agricultural produce. Venezuela's principal trading partners are the United States, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico
