Venezuela Taking Aim At The Black Gold

As ExxonMobil is thriving in the coast of Guyana, Venezuelan warship made its first incursion near the block ExxonMobil was doing seismic survey. This disturbance did not impede in ExxonMobil process, but it was expected this incident would not be the last.

Venezuela is now trying to remap its Caribbean oil and gas prospects in move to further in hope to revive a century-long border dispute driven by oil discoveries in Guyana.

Trying in the process to collide with ExxonMobil Corp’s venture in the region. The next survey is planned for the coming months and will include an eastern area of Venezuela that borders Guyana per unnamed source that did not want to be identified, it wasn’t confirmed by officials at state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.

Venezuela has reignited the border dispute last month after intercepting two ships conducting seismic studies as the oil major prepares to develop giant deep-water reserves of the coast of Guyana. Venezuela has mapped its offshore territory for oil deposits in the past, but some areas remain open for disagreement.

The new survey will also include areas bordering Caribbean islands such as Grenada and Saint Vincent. “More surveys are pending to identify commercially viable options for gas,” said Antero Alvarado, a managing partner at consulting firm Gas Energy Latin America. “Past PDVSA studies ignored identifying gas deposits because the focus was always on oil.’’

As the result of the latest incident with Venezuela one of the two ships hired by ExxonMobil will conduct seismic survey in Guyanese waters away from the border, while the other will no longer be used, Texas-based company said.

Maduro issued a decree a week after the interception stating Venezuela’s continental shelf is open for oil exploration, although no investment plans have been announced for the area yet.

With more discovery to come in Guyana, the behavior of its neighbor needs to be seen