The United States says Guyana has the sovereign right to explore and exploit resources in its exclusive economic zone after Georgetown accused Venezuela of sending warships to “intercept” a ship exploring for oil on behalf of US-based oil giant, Exxon Mobil Corp, in Guyanese waters over the last weekend.
Guyana has already indicated that it intends to take Saturday’s incident before the United Nations and Washington said it was urging Venezuela to respect international law and the rights of its neighbour.
“We are monitoring reports that the Venezuelan Navy may have interfered with vessels operating on behalf of ExxonMobil,” Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted.
“We underscore that Guyana has the sovereign right to explore and exploit resources in its territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone,” he added.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after the Guyana Parliament approved a motion of no confidence in the government of President David Granger that had been piloted by Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
As a result, presidential and general elections are likely to be held here by March next year.
On Sunday, Venezuela said it wanted to re-establish direct dialogue with Guyana as the two countries continue to deal with their long standing border dispute that flared up after Guyana announced the discovery of oil that could make the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country one of the largest producers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Norwegian company Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) owned Ramform Tethys vessel was conducting seismic survey work on behalf of Exxon on Saturday when it stopped exploration and turned east after being approached by the Venezuelan navy.
A spokeswoman for Exxon said the U.S. oil firm’s seismic explorations in the western portion of Guyana’s Stabroek Block “have been paused until they can be safely continued,” and that the vessel was operating in Guyana’s exclusive economic zone.
But in a statement on Sunday, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said its navy, during a routine patrol, had encountered two boats hired by Exxon in an area under “undoubtedly Venezuelan sovereignty” and “proceeded to apply the appropriate international protocols”
It said the boats’ captains told the navy they had permission from the Guyana government to explore in the area, and that the boats turned around after being told Guyana did not have jurisdiction in that area.
