Guyana has issued a warning to neighbouring Venezuela to refrain from interfering in offshore oil exploration efforts.
Venezuela has objected to the planned offshore exploration by US company Exxon.
In a press release issued late Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the warning follows communication from Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry to the Country Manager of Esso Exploration and production Guyana Limited, objecting to the dispatch of a rig to proceed with the exploration of an oil well.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela desist from taking any actions that could only result in the stymieing of the development of Guyana and its people and that would be in contravention of international law,” the release stated.
Exxon Mobil plans to invest US$200 million in drilling offshore Guyana in the Liza field, which part of the Stabroek Block.
An oilrig, Deep Water Champion, has already left the United States for Guyana where it would begin work in mid-March.
Guyana says it has since informed the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Organisation of American States (OAS), the Commonwealth and the United Nations Secretary General “about this recent action by Venezuela”.
Source-CMC
