WITH Venezuela’s renewed threats of annexation of the Essequibo region, as well as the recent objections to Guyana’s maiden offshore bid round, the nation’s territorial integrity is being threatened. Venezuela’s threats extend beyond their claim to Essequibo and bring into question the security of Guyana’s bountiful oil reserves in its Exclusive Economic Zone, from which revenue has been funnelled into several developmental projects.
With the increasing jingoism being displayed by Venezuelan authorities, as well as past incidents of unlawful occupation of Guyana’s territory, it raises the question of what is keeping Venezuela at bay. On Monday, November 6, Guyana’s National Assembly held an extraordinary sitting to debate the border controversy, and it was explained that the signing of a Production Sharing Agreement with ExxonMobil in 1999 and the company’s operations offshore may be a crucial factor.
During that sitting of the National Assembly, a unanimous motion was passed to denounce Venezuela’s referendum to annex and integrate the Essequibo region into its territory and affirm the position that Essequibo belongs to Guyana. In his address to the nation’s legislators, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Public Security, Hon. Khemraj Ramjattan highlighted the geopolitical value in having an agreement with ExxonMobil and Chinese company, CNOOC, asserting that entering into the agreement was an act of eminent domain.
“I am glad that we signed the deal with ExxonMobil Guyana. That had geopolitical advantages about it,” said Ramjattan, who further declared, “We are going to see the benefits of [it].”
Ramjattan’s comments allude to the fact that the operations of U.S. International Oil Companies (IOC) in Guyana’s territorial waters would result in support from the U.S., as the country is committed to protecting the interests of its businesses that are operating abroad. The signing of the 2009 PSA and the subsequent renegotiated agreement in 2016 secured the financial investments of the Stabroek Block co-venturers – ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Hess Guyana Production Limited and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited.
The PSAs, signed on the heels of other projects and investments facing pressure and backlash from the Venezuelan government, have since been the subject of great criticism from some sections of society. However, with the PSA comes the presence and financial stakes of two large U.S. IOCs offshore Guyana—ExxonMobil and now Chevron, who announced the purchase of Hess’s shares.
The recent increase in aggression from Venezuela on this issue is by no means a new occurrence. Having rejected a deal between Guyana and Beal Aerospace for a launch site in Guyana in 2000, and protesting the establishment of a satellite launch facility in the Waini area, former President, Hugo Chavez released a statement, saying, “It concerns and displeases the Venezuelan People and Government, that the initiatives promoting foreign direct investment are directed mainly to the zone under claim, on which the Venezuelan State claims and will claim its possession, until achieving the practical and satisfactory solution foreseen in the Geneva Agreement.”
Former Venezuelan President, Raul Leoni, also placed an advertisement in the Times newspaper of London on June 15, 1968, to the effect that Essequibo belonged to Venezuela, and that the country did not recognise economic concessions that were to be granted by the Government of Guyana at the time.
In February 1970, Guyana was once again the subject of action by the Venezuelan military, which prompted Guyana’s Foreign Ministry to bring their actions to the attention of the Security Council through the United Nations. In 1970, Venezuela through former President, Rafael Caldera Rodrigues, also blocked Guyana’s attempt to allow petroleum exploration rights in Essequibo by German company, Dimitex. Former President, Luis Herrera Campins, in 1980, reinforced these efforts with the blockage of the Upper Mazaruni hydropower project.
Venezuela has also illegally occupied Ankoko Island in the Cuyuni River since October 1966, the year that Guyana gained its independence from Great Britain. The eastern half of Ankoko Island, located at the confluence of the Cuyuni and Wenamu Rivers, forms part of the boundary between Venezuela and Guyana and has since been occupied by the Venezuelan army, with Venezuela even establishing a military base, airstrip and post office, and occupation by civilian settlers.
The presence of IOCs in Guyana may be playing a greater role in the U.S. support for the country’s sovereignty.
In fact, on September 18 last, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian A. Nichols, joined the chorus of calls for Guyana’s territorial sovereignty to be respected. “The U.S. supports Guyana’s sovereign right to develop its own natural resources. Efforts to infringe on Guyana’s sovereignty are unacceptable. We call on Venezuela to respect international law, including the 1899 arbitration award and the ongoing ICJ process between Guyana and Venezuela,” he affirmed via social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Additionally, Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, publicly denounced Venezuela’s objections to the offshore bid round, saying, “We vehemently decry intimidatory tactics that seek to undermine the principle of ‘good neighbourliness.’”
In light of the collective reinforcement of support for Guyana by U.S. authorities, and Venezuela’s previous efforts to disrupt Guyana’s economic development, it comes into question—what actions would Venezuela have taken had ExxonMobil and their co-venturers not been operating offshore?
