Exxon Focuses on Oil Output in Guyana Border Dispute, CEO Says

(Bloomberg) Exxon Mobil Corp. Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said the Texas energy giant is focusing on producing oil in Guyana as efficiently as possible to help the South American country in its border dispute with Venezuela.

“I’m not sure the press has captured the true intensity of the situation there, but we’re keeping an eye on it,” Woods said in an interview at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. “We can do what we can do, which is making sure that we’re helping the government of Guyana by producing the resources efficiently.”

Venezuelans on Sunday voted on referendum questions over whether to claim a disputed border area known as the Essequibo that’s currently controlled by neighboring Guyana. Elvis Amoroso, head of Venezuela’s electoral body, said preliminary results show an “overwhelming victory” of positive answers as the government uses the issue to stoke nationalism among the electorate ahead of presidential elections in 2024.

Guyana and Venezuela have been disputing their boundary since the late 1800s, when an international arbitration panel award the territory to Britain. In 1962, Venezuela said the decision was invalid and has periodically demanded the area be handed over. Guyana achieved independence from Britain in 1966.

The dispute has gained renewed fervor since Exxon discovered oil off Guyana’s coast in 2015 and quickly turned the country into one of the fastest-growing producers of crude. Separately, then-president Hugo Chavez nationalized Exxon’s operations in Venezuela in 2007.

“I think there’s a lot of things happening in Venezuela from a political standpoint,” Woods said.