Venezuela has given ExxonMobil and other offshore oil producers 90 days to stop operations in disputed waters off the coast of Guyana.
The threat, part of President Nicholas Maduro's effort to seize western Guyana's Essequibo province that has been in dispute for more than a century, follows a stepped up Venezuelan military presence on the border. Maduro this week also named Venezuelan army major general Alexis Rodriguez as head of the region, published a new map featuring Guayana Esequiba as a new Venezuelan state, and plans to print Venezuelan identification cards for current residents there.
Guyana officials have described Maduro's threats as an attempt to distract from a wide range of domestic challenges in Venezuela, saying its oil sector investors "have nothing to fear" from its neighbor.
Venezuela's latest actions have not dampened the commitment of foreign investors, Guyana president Irfaan Ali said last night. "The attitude of our investors, including ExxonMobil, has not changed," he said.
Tensions over Essequibo intensified starting in 2016 when ExxonMobil made the first of several oil finds in the Stabroek block offshore from Essequibo. Stabroek partially overlaps the disputed waters.
ExxonMobil's partners in the project include US independent Hess and Chinese state-owned CNOOC unit Nexen. Chevron, which is the only US oil producer to maintain partnerships in Venezuela, is in the process of acquiring Hess.
ExxonMobil told Argus that conflicts over national borders "... are for governments and appropriate international organizations to address."
Guyana previously asked the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) to intervene in the dispute. The court warned Venezuela against taking any further actions, particularly related to a nationwide referendum over the weekend where voters were asked if the country should take over the region.
The measures announced this week by Venezuela "are in blatant disregard " of the ICJ order, Guyana's Ali said. Guyana will lodge a complaint with the UN security council against Venezuela for ordering foreign companies to leave oil concessions awarded by Guyana. The ICJ will also be informed of Venezuela creating divisions of state oil company PdV and state mining company CVG to deliver concessions for exploration in the disputed area, Ali said.
The Guyana's army "remains on high alert and has engaged its military counterparts, including the US Southern Command, to safeguard Guyana's sovereignty," he said. "Guyana views this as an imminent threat to its territorial integrity and will intensify precautionary measures to safeguard its territory."
