Venezuela’s relations with Guyana
MARCH 8, 2015 · BY Stabroek News – Editorial
The week before last Takuba Lodge issued a press release stating that Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez of Venezuela had raised an objection with the Country Manager of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd about the dispatch of an oil rig from Louisiana to an exploratory concession granted by the Government of Guyana.
The site identified for the drilling is called Liza, which is located off the coast of Demerara within the Stabroek Block. Needless to say, it is situated well within Guyana’s waters, and while Venezuela’s spurious claim to this country’s land space has never encompassed territory east of the Essequibo River, the Stabroek Block does extend into offshore Essequibo. The implications of this, one supposes, is the primary reason for Venezuela’s objection.
The latest protest from our western neighbour follows an ingrained pattern whereby it has attempted to thwart any major development on land or sea in Essequibo over the past few decades, be it a hydroelectric project, a spaceport, or an exploratory concession for oil. Continue reading
