One of the world’s most-influential insurance markets added Guyana to its list of the riskiest shipping zones amid an escalating territorial dispute with neighboring Venezuela.
The decision announced by Lloyd’s Market Association’s Joint War Committee on Monday applies only to vessels visiting offshore installations in the Guyanese Exclusive Economic Zone outside the nation’s “territorial waters.”
The move may increase the cost of shipping crude from Exxon Mobil Corp.-run offshore installations that have transformed Guyana into one of the world’s fastest-growing oil provinces. Exxon recently started production at Payara, its third development in the area, bringing total output capacity to 620,000 barrels a day, a figure that’s expected to double over the next four years.
