Venezuela rejects Guyana’s “unilateral” offshore seismic survey

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 March 2026, 16:22 by Writer

The Venezuelan government on Thursday rejected Guyana’s decision to carry out 3D seismic data gathering in a 25,000 square kilometre offshore area in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in search of potential commercially viable deposits of oil and gas.

In a statement, the Venezuelan government made no reference to its decades-old border claim to the Essequibo Region and Atlantic waters abutting that land area, but said that the maritime boundary with Guyana has not yet been legally agreed to with Guyana.

“Once again, Guyana reiterates its claims to carry out unilateral exploration activities in part of the maritime areas that are pending delimitation, in open violation of fundamental principles of international law,” the government in Caracas said.

Venezuela demanded that Guyana refrain from taking unilateral actions that could violate the principles of customary law governing international relations between coastal countries, particularly those that prohibit states from adopting measures that could create or aggravate differences and deviate from the framework of international law, as well as from compliance with agreements and guiding principles.

Against that background, Venezuela cautioned 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.

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.