Expert: Guyana's request is a hostile move against Venezuela
Aníbal Martínez, the head of Venezuelan NGO Instituto de Defensa del Petróleo (Institute for the Defense of Oil), recalled that some oil blocks in Venezuela's Atlantic front have been put for tender
EL UNIVERSAL
Thursday September 22, 2011 - 02:22 PM
Source - El Universal
Oil analyst Aníbal Martínez contrasted Venezuela’s “kindness” with Guyana’s “unfriendly” acts (Photo: Oswer Díaz)
Aníbal Martínez, the head of non-governmental organization Instituto de Defensa del Petróleo (Institute for the Defense of Oil), thinks that Guyana's request to extend its continental shelf from 200 miles to 350 miles represents "the culmination of a series of hostile acts that have been carried out by this country against Venezuela, while our country has not exercised its legitimate right to defend the territorial integrity of the motherland."
Martínez addressed the issue with members of the Ávila group, and said, "Venezuela has indisputable rights in its Atlantic front."
Martínez explained that since 1999 Guyana has bid oil and gas fields in marine and submarine waters located within the disputed territory, thus disregarding the historical documents that prove the legitimate rights of Venezuela, disturbing Surinam and Barbados, and extending its claims over disputed areas even within the 110 km which are Venezuelan territory at the mouth of the Orinoco Delta.
He explained that the sea front has an area of 159,000 km2. Nevertheless, both Barbados and Guyana have made bid oil fields located within the 130,000 km2 corresponding to the Atlantic coast of Venezuela under the straight baseline set on July 9, 1978.
He stressed that Guyana's ratification in 1994 of the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 hinted the position of Guyana, whose aspiration saw the light of day before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, without any consultation with Venezuela "which is the legitimate holder of the rights over the disputed territory."
He said that instead of protesting at these hostile acts by Guyana, Venezuela has allowed Guyana to enter the Caracas Energy Accord (2001) and Petrocaribe (2005), under which Caracas supplies 24,800 cubic meters of gas per month to Georgetown.
Aníbal Martínez, the head of Venezuelan NGO Instituto de Defensa del Petróleo (Institute for the Defense of Oil), recalled that some oil blocks in Venezuela's Atlantic front have been put for tender
EL UNIVERSAL
Thursday September 22, 2011 - 02:22 PM
Source - El Universal
Oil analyst Aníbal Martínez contrasted Venezuela’s “kindness” with Guyana’s “unfriendly” acts (Photo: Oswer Díaz)
Aníbal Martínez, the head of non-governmental organization Instituto de Defensa del Petróleo (Institute for the Defense of Oil), thinks that Guyana's request to extend its continental shelf from 200 miles to 350 miles represents "the culmination of a series of hostile acts that have been carried out by this country against Venezuela, while our country has not exercised its legitimate right to defend the territorial integrity of the motherland."
Martínez addressed the issue with members of the Ávila group, and said, "Venezuela has indisputable rights in its Atlantic front."
Martínez explained that since 1999 Guyana has bid oil and gas fields in marine and submarine waters located within the disputed territory, thus disregarding the historical documents that prove the legitimate rights of Venezuela, disturbing Surinam and Barbados, and extending its claims over disputed areas even within the 110 km which are Venezuelan territory at the mouth of the Orinoco Delta.
He explained that the sea front has an area of 159,000 km2. Nevertheless, both Barbados and Guyana have made bid oil fields located within the 130,000 km2 corresponding to the Atlantic coast of Venezuela under the straight baseline set on July 9, 1978.
He stressed that Guyana's ratification in 1994 of the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 hinted the position of Guyana, whose aspiration saw the light of day before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, without any consultation with Venezuela "which is the legitimate holder of the rights over the disputed territory."
He said that instead of protesting at these hostile acts by Guyana, Venezuela has allowed Guyana to enter the Caracas Energy Accord (2001) and Petrocaribe (2005), under which Caracas supplies 24,800 cubic meters of gas per month to Georgetown.