CARACAS: Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodríguez stated that Venezuela upheld its sovereign claim over the Essequibo as a Venezuelan territory apropos oil drilling operations conducted by Exxon Mobil since March in disputed waters, under an agreement signed between the oil company and the government of Guyana.
The minister stressed that as long as a decision is not reached on the border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, the disputed waters could not have other purposes.
Exxon Mobil launched drilling operations last March 6 in Guyana waters. The USD 200 million-project will last 10 years, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guyana asked Caracas to refrain from interfering in oil prospecting works at the Stabroek block, located in the Guyana-Surinam basin, and certified by the United States Geological Survey as the second largest area in the planet with un-prospected oil.
Rodríguez commented that Venezuela had sent communiqués to the US oil company urging it to stop its activities in those waters, and to withdraw from there, as it a disputed area.
“Border disputes are a matter for governments to resolve through bilateral discussions and appropriate international organizations,” said Jeff Simmons, Exxon Mobil’s representative to Guyana in reply to the Venezuelan Foreign Office.
