The Venezuelan patrol ship that entered Guyana’s waters Saturday and positioned itself near a vessel contracted by Exxon Mobil Corp. in the Stabroek oil block has departed the area, according to the Guyana Defence Force.

General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, has echoed the alarm of Dr Irfaan Ali, the President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, after a coast guard vessel from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela entered the waters of Guyana on 1.

Venezuelan coast guard vessels entered Guyana’s waters near Exxon Mobil Corp.’s offshore drilling site over the weekend and transmitted a radio message claiming it was patrolling a “disputed international” maritime zone.