LatinNews Daily - 23 February 2026

*Guyana’s natural resources minister, Vickram Bharrat, has been cited by the media as saying that Guyana has denied a request from US oil giant ExxonMobil to explore for oil in part of Guyana’s prolific Stabroek block close to Venezuela, citing the ongoing case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Venezuela’s claim to the disputed Essequibo region, which lies within Guyana’s internationally recognised borders. According to the media reports, Bharrat, who was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, said: “They can’t do exploration and we took the decision because we didn’t want to aggravate the situation with Venezuela, because rightfully it is our land; it is our territory, and we can say to Exxon, ‘Look go and drill. Exxon wanted to go and drill but we said, ‘No, let’s wait on the International Court of Justice’, because we don’t want to aggravate a situation or it leads to aggression or anything untoward. That is the only area. There is no other area”. In a 20 February press release by Guyana’s department of public information (DPI), Bharrat noted that from 2020 to 2025, Guyana, where the discovery of oil in 2015 led to an unrivalled surge in national wealth, was able to raise oil production from 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) to over 900,000 bpd.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 226 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial