ExxonMobil is awaiting a final ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) before advancing exploration activities on a significant portion of its offshore acreage in Guyana that remains under force majeure because of the country's border controversy with Venezuela.
Speaking during the company's second-quarter 2026 earnings call on Friday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said Exxon remains optimistic about the long-term exploration potential of the Stabroek Block, including areas that cannot yet be explored because of the ongoing territorial controversy.
"We obviously have a large chunk of acreage which is in force majeure, waiting for the ultimate ruling from the International Court of Justice on the Venezuela dispute, and then we'll see what happens there," Woods said.
He explained that once there is a final ruling, the company intends to begin seismic surveys to better understand the resource potential of the affected acreage.
"We feel there's an opportunity then to start shooting seismic and understand what that acreage potentially holds," he said, noting that additional work will be required before any future drilling decisions are made.
The comments provide one of the clearest indications yet that Exxon sees additional upside in the western portion of the Stabroek Block, where exploration has been constrained because of the decades-old border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.
Despite those restrictions, Woods said the company believes there is still considerable exploration potential across the broader Stabroek Block.
"We're not done yet in Guyana, and we continue to see a really bright future there," he said.
Woods noted that Exxon is continuing exploration work in other parts of the block, where the company has already made more than 40 oil discoveries. He also revealed that artificial intelligence has helped identify additional exploration opportunities by analysing years of drilling results and subsurface data collected offshore Guyana.
The company believes those efforts have uncovered new prospects beyond those previously identified, reinforcing its confidence that Guyana remains one of its most promising oil provinces.
ExxonMobil, together with partners Hess and CNOOC, currently produces oil from the Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA floating production, storage and offloading vessels offshore Guyana, with additional developments planned over the coming years.
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