On Wednesday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez rejected statements made by ExxonMobil President Alistair Routledge regarding Guyana's alignment with the United States on security matters.
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"Venezuela rejects the threatening statements of ExxonMobil's president, Alistair Routledge. This energy multinational not only usurps Guyana's sovereignty but also influences the highest authorities of that country, encourages the illegitimate route of the International Court of Justice to the detriment of the Geneva Agreement," she said.
"It also seeks to shelter its illicit operations in a sea pending delimitation, under the warlike mantle of the United States in complicity with Guyana," Rodriguez asserted.
"Venezuela will not rest in defending the Essequibo and will assert its rights under all circumstances," she added, warning that the multinational company's aspirations violate international law and the Argyle Agreements reached in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
On Feb. 6, News Source Guyana published an article showing that ExxonMobil plans to conduct oil explorations in offshore areas located in the Essequibo region.
More specifically, this U.S. company aims to drill two wells west of Liza and Payara, two areas where six years ago several Venezuelan gunboats pursued exploration vessels that had received concessions from Guyana.
Alistair Routledge affirmed that security agreements reached with the United States make Guyana a "global player" in the energy industry.
"I think the collaboration we are seeing for Guyana with other countries on the military front and also on the diplomatic and economic front reflects that. So, I think it is a healthy thing, I think it is good for the western hemisphere that we see that kind of cooperation and hopefully, it will continue," he said.
The ExxonMobil president also stated that his company's contracts with Guyana are valid according to Guyanese laws and international law, "and therefore, it has every right to operate in the Stabroek Block," News Source Guyana reported.
On Wednesday, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino published a message warning about the potential consequences of this company's aspirations.
"If ExxonMobil has a private security company represented by the Southern Command and a small branch in the Guyanese government, good for them. However, in the maritime space belonging to Venezuela by right, they will receive a proportional, forceful, and lawful response," he said.
In a tender held in December 2022, Exxon Mobil and other transnational companies gave Guyana exploration and exploitation offers for 8 out of 14 oil blocks. This revived diplomatic tensions related to the delimitation of territories between Guyana and Venezuela.