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.

Guyana is on high alert following the incursion of a Venezuelan navy ship into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Saturday morning, according to OilNOW. The country has deployed air assets and is mobilising its Coast Guard to the affected area.

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.

Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said on Saturday that a Venezuelan coast guard patrol entered Guyanese waters earlier in the day, approaching an output vessel in an offshore oil block managed by Exxon Mobil .

The South American neighbours are involved in a long-running dispute about which country owns the oil-rich Essequibo area Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said on Saturday that a Venezuelan naval vessel had entered his country's waters earlier in the day,