Guyana Warns Venezuela: Don’t Interfere with Oil Rig

Guyana’s government has issued a warning to Venezuela to refrain from interfering in offshore oil exploration efforts in contested waters. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has requested that the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela desist from taking any actions that could only result in the stymieing of the development of Guyana and its people and that would be in contravention of international law,” the Guyanese government said in a statement. The warning follows communication from Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry to an Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary objecting to the deployment of an oil rig in waters Venezuela claims as its own. Exxon Mobil plans to invest $200 million in exploratory drilling off Guyana in the Liza field, which is part of the Stabroek Block. The Deep Water Champion platform has already left the United States for Guyana, where it is expected to begin work in mid-March. More….