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.

“During this incursion, the Venezuelan vessel approached various assets in our exclusive waters, including FPSO Prosperity,” Ali reportedly told Bloomberg, referring to Exxon-contracted ship. Ali was quoted as saying that the Guyana Defense Force ordered aircraft to the area and a Coast Guard ship was en route.

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 .

Guyana’s president has denounced an incursion by an armed Venezuelan naval vessel in disputed waters and home to a mammoth offshore oil deposit being developed by ExxonMobil

Guyana and Venezuela have seen heightened tensions over control of the disputed Essequibo territory, a sprawling region rich in natural resources

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,