ExxonMobil to explore for oil and gas in offshore area under dispute by Guyana and Venezuela WFTV [Video]

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — (AP) — ExxonMobil said it plans to explore for oil and gas in a disputed area off South America’s coast where the Venezuelan military had previously expelled two U.S. oil companies. The move could escalate tensions between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana, which awarded the exploration license.

Guyana considers the area part of its Essequibo region, but Venezuela has long claimed it as its own, holding a referendum in December in which voters supported a push to annex it.

Robert Persaud, Guyana’s foreign secretary, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that ExxonMobil has every right to work in that region “because it is within established Guyana waters in a fully demarcated area.”

The oil giant said Tuesday that it expects to drill two exploratory wells north and west of its prolific Stabroek block, where three oil fields are producing close to 650,000 barrels of oil a day.

The president of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge, told reporters that the concessions were granted …