(Kaieteur News) – The legal battle over ExxonMobil’s refusal to provide Guyana with an “unlimited” parent company guarantee for potential oil spills is heading to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), after the Guyana Court of Appeal granted leave for the matter to be appealed.

The Court of Appeal on 14th July granted leave to attorneys representing public-interest litigants Frederick Collins and Godfrey Whyte to challenge the appellate court’s May ruling before the region’s highest court. The development reopens a major legal battle over how far ExxonMobil’s financial responsibility extends in the event of a catastrophic oil spill offshore Guyana.

In May Guyana’s Appeal Court unanimously overturned a 2023 High Court decision by Justice Sandil Kissoon where he ordered ExxonMobil to provide Guyana with an unlimited parent company guarantee for oil spills. The Appeal Court later overturned Justice Kissoon’s Order that the Environmental Permit issued to Exxon be suspended until the company provided the unlimited guarantee.