Hess Market Cap Plunges $1.5 Billion as Major Project Halted
- Seismic work in Guyana’s offshore region halted by Venezuela
- Venezuela has long disputed neighbor Guyana’s offshore claim
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Hess Corp. tumbled the most in almost three years, wiping out $1.5 billion in market valuation, after work at the oil explorer’s most promising international investment was halted by a Venezuelan blockade.
The intervention threatened to derail development of a 5 billion-barrel discovery off Guyana’s coastline that is so important to Hess’s future growth plans that it receives top billing in the New York-based driller’s investor presentations. Although significant for partners Exxon Mobil Corp. and CNOOC Ltd., Hess is particularly dependent on the Guyanese project to generate production growth and cash flow into the next decade.