ExxonMobil appeals ruling by Guyanese court in oil spill insurance coverage

By BERT WILKINSON
Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — American oil giant ExxonMobil says it has appealed a Guyanese court ruling requiring it to obtain insurance for “unlimited liability” in the event of a major oil spill off the coast of Guyana. Exxon said in a statement Friday that the court failed to consider that Exxon and consortium partners Hess Corp. and China National Overseas Offshore Corporation have the “undoubted ability” to meet their financial obligations in the event of a spill at their operation in Stabroek Block near the south eastern border with Suriname. The company also argues that no insurance company will provide unlimited coverage. Rights activists and environmentalists fear that a spill could severely impact the country’s marine resources while devastating the tourism economies of nearby Caribbean nations.