Venezuela has requested information from Trinidad and Tobago regarding ExxonMobil's upcoming field tests in an ultra-deep-water area recently awarded to the company, reported Reuters, citing two sources and a document.
This request includes details about the location of the tests and whether any potential discoveries could extend into Venezuelan territory.
Venezuela’s Vice-President and Oil Minister, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded the details during a meeting earlier this month with Trinidad’s Acting Head of Mission to Caracas, Dayne-Marc Chin Slick.
The news agency reported this based on a diplomatic communication sent by Dayne-Marc Chin Slick to Trinidad's Foreign Minister.
ExxonMobil received the offshore block earlier this year, marking its return to Trinidad for oil and gas exploration.
The block is located near the maritime border with Venezuela and is north-west of the Stabroek block, which Exxon operates in Guyana.
Diplomatic ties between the two nations have soured recently, as Venezuela's National Assembly declared Trinidad's Prime Minister persona non grata.
This week, Venezuela suspended a significant energy agreement with Trinidad, which included several joint gas projects.
The decision followed President Nicolas Maduro's criticism of Trinidad's perceived pro-US stance amid rising military tensions in the region.
A similar dispute with Guyana in 2015 led to the suspension of Exxon's drilling activities in the northern part of the Stabroek block, which was assigned force majeure status due to exploration delays.
Rodriguez referenced Article 8 of a delimitation treaty concerning territorial borders, which requires either country to notify the other of planned exploration within 500m of the border.
Trinidad is willing to share details of Exxon’s seismic survey planned for next year.
However, the country withheld further information on the work plan or the potential for discoveries extending into Venezuelan territory, said the news agency.
The Foreign Ministry’s memo stated: “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is bound by confidentiality provisions and, as a consequence, specific and detailed information on ExxonMobil's operations for Block TTUD 1 cannot be disclosed.”
