Guyana has accused a Venezuelan coastguard patrol of entering its waters and approaching a floating production, storage and offloading vessel operated by ExxonMobil.
President Irfaan Ali said the incident took place on Saturday in an oil block managed by the US oil giant.
The FPSO is the 222,000 barrel-per-day Prosperity (built 2023).
The two South American countries have clashed diplomatically over who owns the 160,000 square kilometre oil-rich Essequibo region.
This is the subject of a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The northwest part of the oil block, close to Venezuela, had earlier declared force majeure, with ExxonMobil unable to complete exploration work there, Reuters reported.
“During this incursion, the Venezuelan vessel approached various assets in our exclusive waters, including FPSO Prosperity,” Ali said in a statement.
Venezuela denied Guyana’s allegations. The government said the waters entered by the patrol were not part of Guyanese territory, since it is a maritime zone “pending delimitation” in accordance with international law.
“Irfaan Ali is blatantly lying when he states that units of the Venezuelan Navy are violating Guyana’s territory,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement shared on Telegram.
Guyana has summoned the Venezuelan ambassador to meet its foreign minister to discuss the issue.
It will also report the incident to the ICJ.
Ali said “air assets” were being deployed in the area.
The Organization of American States condemned the alleged Venezuelan incursion in “Guyana’s internationally recognised maritime territory”.
The US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X that the incident was a violation of Guyana’s territory.
“Further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime,” it added.(Copyright)
