Explainer-What is the border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana?
investing.comBy Julia Symmes Cobb
(Reuters) — Tensions between neighbors Venezuela and Guyana have ratcheted up in recent weeks over a long-running territorial dispute.
At issue is a 160,000-square-km (62,000-square-mile) border territory around the Esequibo river, which is mostly jungle, and an offshore area where massive discoveries of oil and gas have been made.
Both countries claim ownership of the territory, which is sparsely populated and whose much-disputed border was agreed under a 1899 decision when Guyana was still part of the British Empire.
WHAT HAS SPARKED THE TENSIONS?
Venezuela reactivated its claim to the territory in recent years after the finding of some 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas off Guyana's coast.
Caracas won backing in a referendum at the weekend to create a new state and President Nicolas Maduro has pledged oil and mining exploration in the claimed area.
Analysts and sources in Caracas have said the referendum, in which voters also rejected the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) jurisdiction over the case, will not translate to actual invasion. It is, they say, an attempt by Maduro to show strength and gauge support for his government ahead of 2024 presidential elections.
WHY IS THE TERRITORY IMPORTANT?
Though the onshore area of the Esequibo is largely undeveloped jungle, there have been major offshore discoveries of crude and gas nearby in recent years, putting Guyana on the world map of oil producers.
A consortium by Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), China's CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and U.S. Hess (NYSE:HES) began oil production in Guyana in 2019.
Oil production is currently at some 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) of oil and gas and is expected to rise to more than 1 million bpd by 2027. It has sharply
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