Guyana vows no interruptions

Guyana's president, David Granger, says he has assured ExxonMobil that exploration work at the company's recent oil discovery off the Guyana coast will not be interrupted, despite Venezuela’s recent revival of a century-old claim on 66% of Guyana’s territory, reports Seeking Alpha.

According to the report, tensions between the countries have increased since ExxonMobil’s discovery in May 2015. Venezuela issued a decree asserting its sovereignty over the Essequibo region’s land and its offshore waters where ExxonMobil has an exploration concession from Guyana.

In 2007, Venezuela nationalized ExxonMobil’s heavy oil projects, but ExxonMobil prevailed when an arbitration court ruled Venezuela must pay US-based ExxonMobil $1.6 billion.

Also in the region, Repsol has requested a six-month extension on its offshore exploration license from Guyana’s government.