evidence: ISSUES IN GULF OF VENEZUELA DISPUTE EXPLAINED [...] Gulf of Venezuela are inland waters. Venezuela does not Agree to any nego- tiatiOn concerning this area. [...] Map 6--Is there petroleum in the Gulf of Venezuela? Geologists do not know where petroleum is. But they do know where it cannot be. The studies show unmistakably that nowhere in the maximum area sought by Colombia is there any possibility of geological formations capable of containing hydrocarbons.