Exxon drilling off to smooth start – Minister Persaud

Oil major ExxonMobil’s oil exploration activities in the Stabroek Block off Guyana’s Essequibo Coast are proceeding according to schedule with no disruptions from Venezuela, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud has disclosed.

“Exxon has begun its operations and so far, there has been no conflict or hiccups in that. Everything is progressing according to plan,” Persaud told this newspaper. The United States-based oil company’s exploration ship, the Deep Water Champion commenced its US$200 million oil exploration project last Thursday.

The company, which intends to pursue exploration activities over a 10-year period, remained locked in what could be a possible showdown with Venezuelan authorities who had issued a warning for it not to proceed with the drilling, which was sanctioned by the Guyana Government.

ExxonMobil Guyana Public Relations Officer Carlton James told this newspaper that the company was proceeding with its operations as planned and was not bothered by the border issue existing between the two countries. To this end, he noted that the company was operating under the permission of the Guyana Government and any arising matter was for the Guyana and Venezuela Governments to sort out.

Venezuela has repeatedly laid claim to the area to be explored, ignoring an 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award, which was declared as the full and final settlement of the boundary between the two South American nations. With Venezuela’s insistence on its position, Guyana is considering judicial settlement of the boundary.

Following Venezuela’s warning, Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, dispatched a diplomatic note to her Venezuelan counterpart, asking Venezuela to desist from any action that would stymie this country’s development. The total area allotted to Exxon for exploration covers 26, 806 square kilometres.

ExxonMobil, the largest public traded international company in the world, is an industry giant that has the leading inventory of oil and gas projects, and the world’s largest refiner of petroleum products.

Guyana has been receiving sustained international attention from huge companies, especially in the oil sector. The US Geological Survey said in 2000 that the Guyana-Suriname Basin has the second largest unexplored oil potential in the world after Greenland.