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On Friday, December 1, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the Government of Venezuela to refrain from taking “any action that modifies” the situation of Guyanese control over the territory west of the Essequibo River, which has been the subject of binational dispute for decades. .
Essequibo is a region disputed between Venezuela and Guyana since colonial times, which has been in the news again since the discovery of important oil reserves in 2015.
There are those who say that this Guyanese territory, of 160,000 square kilometers and about 125,000 inhabitants, could host oil reserves greater than those of a country like Kuwait, and become the second largest unexploited oil reserve in the world with high-quality crude oil.
For example, the Stabroek block, located 120 miles off the Guyanese coast, has equivalent reserves estimated at 8,000 million barrels, from whose 16 current wells could be extracted from 2025 about 750,000 barrels of oil per day, almost what it produces today. all of Venezuela.
This region would not only have vast reserves of crude oil, but also gold and other minerals such as coal and precious stones. It is also an important flora and fauna reserve, which is why both Venezuela and Guyana claim it as an exclusive economic zone.
According to the International Court of Justice, the administration of Essequibo corresponds to Guyana, which has caused the Government of Nicolás Maduro to call for the decision to be ignored.
I thank the movements and political parties of the Great Patriotic Pole and the Opposition that have joined the national cause. I call on the popular bases of the entire Venezuelan opposition to come out and defend El Essequibo. Long live the National Union! Long live the Union of… pic.twitter.com/TySdVZt2qM
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) December 1, 2023
On Sunday, December 3, the consultative referendum on the annexation of Essequibo to Venezuela will be held, which among other things would grant Venezuelan nationality to its 125,000 inhabitants.
With EFE and Reuters
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