Last weekend, an armed Venezuelan military vessel intimidated a flotilla of rigs and service vessels being used by American supermajor ExxonMobil to produce oil offshore Guyana. The crew of the military vessel claimed that the rigs were in waters owned by Venezuela.
For decades, neighboring Venezuela has claimed Guyana’s western Essequibo region and offshore waters as its own but, ironically, the military vessel sailed way past the Essequibo, going hundreds of miles to the southeast near to the Guyana-Suriname border, where most of the 650,000 barrels of oil per day are being produced in the Stabroek Block.
That area is far from the acreage that Venezuela claims, but the crew thought it fit to sail in-between the rigs and floating production and storage vessels (FPSO), questioning the legality of Exxon’s presence in the area, its right to produce oil, and its right to have a production license.
However, once Guyanese authorities learned of what President Irfan Ali called “an incursion” into Guyana’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), it triggered an alert that resulted in widespread international condemnation of the move and the latest round of escalating tensions between the two neighbors. Venezuela has been claiming the area for decades because it believes that an 1899 boundaries commission had cheated it out of the mineral- and oil-rich area.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government, aware of the importance of daily oil from Guyana and the presence of American commercial assets offshore, warned Venezuela to be responsible.
“Venezuelan navy vessels threatening ExxonMobil’s FPSO unit is unacceptable and a clear violation of Guyana’s maritime territory,” the U.S. government said in a statement, and “Further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime,” it warned through its Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Exxon is part of a consortium with Hess Corp and CNOOC of China, currently operating three oil fields with five more in the development pipeline.
Other statements of condemnation came from the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom), the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States (OAS), and a plethora of organizations and countries that rushed to condemn Venezuela, with most suggesting that it is acting illegally.
Tired of periodic incursions and threats to investors by Venezuela, Guyana took the case to the World Court in the Netherlands in 2018 for a once-and-for-all settlement. Officials linked to the case have said that no ruling is expected before late this year or perhaps in 2026.
Saturday’s incident with the military vessel came two weeks after suspected gangsters shot and injured six Guyanese soldiers from the Venezuelan side of the bordering Cuyuni River, escalating tensions once again between the two. Venezuelan authorities said they were gangsters acting on their own behalf and not that of the state.
Reacting to the widespread condemnation, Venezuelan Defense Minister and General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino López said his country was ready to take action to protect its territory. He said Venezuela was being attacked by North American imperialism through forms like Exxon and others.
“Faced with these incessant attacks, the armed institution, faithful to its anti-imperialist nature, prepares itself in perfect popular military-police fusion, to respond to any threat and preserve the territorial integrity and peace of the Republic,” the minister stated. “The FANB (Bolivarian National Armed Forces) rejects the biased and partial positions assumed by some regional organizations, which, far from contributing to the solution of the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana, constitute themselves prophets of disaster by promoting hostility and warlike policies.”
The two countries appeared to come close to war in late 2023, with both massing troops on borders. Caricom leaders, Brazil, and other friendly nations quickly organized an emergency summit between the presidents in St. Vincent, binding them both to do nothing to escalate tensions. Guyana said Venezuela has consistently breached the peace accord signed on the island. Ali said Guyana will stand up to Venezuela.
“This incursion is a matter of grave concern,” said Ali in announcing that the government had already summoned Venezuela’s ambassador to Guyana to accept a protest note, while the embassy in Caracas had been ordered to do likewise. “We will not tolerate threats to territorial integrity. We are closely monitoring all developments. I want to assure people of Guyana that the government is acting with diligence and resolve. We are addressing this situation with the seriousness it requires.”