Venezuela has no authority over waters off Essequibo Region – Guyana gov’t

Last Updated on Friday, 13 March 2026, 10:36 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana on Thursday said Venezuela has no legal authority over the waters off the Essequibo Region because the land boundary between the two countries was settled in 1899, and so nothing stops the former British colony from conducting a 3D seismic survey of a 25,000-square-kilometre-offshore area or attracting investors there.

“The Ministry wishes to remind the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela that the Government of Guyana has the authority to grant permission for any activities within the maritime areas appurtenant to the coastal territory of Guyana, as defined by the Arbitral Award of 1899, which established the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela,” the foreign ministry said.

Guyana reminded that the boundary between the two states was definitively settled more than a century ago by the 1899 Arbitral Award, Venezuela accepted and benefited from that settlement and the legal certainty it provided.

That Award, Guyana said, brought finality to the territorial boundary and enabled both states to exercise the full rights and advantages arising from their respective territories and maritime projections. “It is therefore particularly incongruous that Venezuela, having historically benefited from the stability and legal clarity afforded by that settlement, now seeks to challenge Guyana’s sovereign right to utilise and develop the resources contained within the territory and maritime areas that lawfully appertain to Guyana,” the government here said.

On this basis, Guyana says it respectfully rejects the protest by Venezuela and likewise rejects the notion that any portion of its maritime space or continental shelf appertains to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Deeming Venezuela’s statement as “unfounded, inaccurate, and entirely inconsistent” with established principles of international law that the maritime boundary with Guyana was yet to be legally settled, the Guyana government categorically rejected Caracas’ assertions and maintained that Georgetown enjoys sovereignty up to 12 nautical miles in the territorial sea, and sovereign rights beyond 12 nautical miles in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf.

The Guyana government said the maritime areas in which the seismic survey would be conducted “lie unequivocally” within Guyana’s EEZ and continental shelf, over which Guyana exercises sovereign rights. “These rights include the exclusive authority to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources within its maritime jurisdiction.

As such, Guyana’s decision to facilitate the acquisition of high-resolution seismic data through a 3D multi-client seismic survey represents a legitimate and lawful exercise of its rights and is entirely consistent with international law and established state practice,” the foreign ministry added.

The government said the seismic acquisition initiative forms part of Guyana’s broader national strategy to strengthen the scientific understanding of its offshore petroleum basin, enhance transparency in resource management, and improve the attractiveness of Guyana’s offshore acreage to responsible international investors.

The government explained that the programme would employ advanced geophysical techniques to generate high-resolution subsurface imagery that supports exploration planning and strengthens the long-term governance of Guyana’s offshore energy sector.

Accordingly, Guyana says it firmly rejects Venezuela’s attempt to characterise those lawful activities as occurring within “undelimited maritime areas.” “Such claims constitute a deliberate misrepresentation of both the geographic and legal realities governing Guyana’s maritime jurisdiction.”

Guyana says it has consistently exercised peaceful administration and jurisdiction over its maritime spaces, including the licensing and regulation of offshore exploration activities. These actions are undertaken in strict conformity with international law and with due regard to the rights and entitlement of other states.

Guyana says the Geneva Agreement of 1966, which governs the resolution of the controversy which has arisen because of Venezuela’s contention, first made in 1962, that the Arbitral Award of 1899, which settled the land boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela, is null and void, does not prevent Guyana from economic development activities in any portion of its territory or in any appurtenant maritime areas.

Responding to Venezuela cautioning that it would not recognize any concession, license, or activity for the exploration or exploitation of natural resources in “undelimited maritime areas that have been granted unilaterally by Guyana” or the rights that third parties claim to derive from such illegal acts, Guyana said under international law, no state may arrogate to itself the authority to invalidate the lawful sovereign decisions of another state within its own territory or maritime zones.

According to Guyana, Venezuela’s statements amount to an unwarranted attempt to interfere with Guyana’s sovereign right to pursue its economic development and manage its natural resources for the benefit of its people. “The Ministry therefore calls upon the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to refrain from issuing inflammatory and misleading statements that seek to undermine Guyana’s sovereign rights or discourage legitimate economic activity within Guyana’s maritime domain.”

The area where the 3D seismic study would be conducted include the 11 blocks from the 2022 Licensing Round located south of the Stabroek Block and continuing to the Guyana-Suriname border.

The agreement also allows for the reprocessing and integration of existing seismic survey datasets over the three survey lots, the Guyana government said.