ExxonMobil has insisted it will explore for oil in a region bitterly contested by Guyana and Venezuela, despite the dangers that the move is likely to escalate tensions between the two South American neighbors. Relations between the two countries have reached an all-time low in recent months following a series of announcements by the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, suggesting that he could take the Essequibo region by force. Leaders across South America are trying to calm regional tensions and fears that Maduro could annex the vast swath of mineral-rich rainforest but Exxon’s announcement threatens to fire up the disagreement once more. “The truth is that this announcement couldn’t come at a worse time,” said Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “Venezuela’s neighbors, led by Brazil, have been working hard for the last three months to lower tensions and ensure good communication between the two governments. This is going to be a massive test for regional diplomacy.” Venezuela has claimed it is the rightful owner of the Essequibo region since the 1960s. The matter is currently being reviewed in the international court of justice but Maduro’s decision to take up the decades-old territorial dispute has been described as an attempt to whip up patriotic support at home. The Venezuelan strongman has been the face of a lengthy national propaganda campaign and claims that his country voted in December for Venezuela to disregard The Hague and take back Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyanese territory. Guyana and Venezuela met in Brazil in December, when they agreed to not use military force, but the two sides did not find a lasting solution to the disagreement. Brazil sent more troops to its border with Guyana and Venezuela on Monday, suggesting the matter is far from resolved, and the US also announced this week that it is bolstering Guyana’s defense with new aircraft, helicopters, military drones and radar technology. Despite the rising tensions, the president of ExxonMobil Guyana said on Tuesday that the oil and gas giant was sticking with its plans to drill two new exploratory wells off Guyana’s Atlantic coast. “We are not going anywhere,” Alistair Routledge told reporters. Venezuelan soldiers have in the past forced Exxon crews out of the contested region, including in 2013 when a Venezuelan gunboat took one of their crews hostage and in 2019 when a Venezuelan military helicopter tried to land on an Exxon boat. Routledge’s defiance was echoed by Guyana’s foreign secretary, Robert Persaud, who told the Guardian that the project was of no concern to Venezuela as it will take place in territory internationally recognised as Guyana’s. “There is nothing that prevents Guyana from exercising its rights to its internationally recognised land and marine space,” Persaud said. “We have been, and we will continue to do so, as there is absolutely nothing in international law or any agreement that curtails that.”