On Thursday, July 9, 2026, a public controversy emerged over a billion-dollar subsea natural gas pipeline off the coast of Guyana, after opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed publicly raised alarms over what he claimed was a ruptured line causing a gas leak. Less than 24 hours after Mohamed shared his concerns, paired with photos and video footage showing intense water bubbling near the anchored utility vessel MT Telesto off Georgetown’s coast, Guyana’s government has pushed back on the claims, confirming only that a “small anomaly” on the line is the subject of ongoing inspections.
The 12-inch diameter, 140-mile pipeline connects an offshore floating production, storage and offloading vessel to two under-construction energy facilities at Wales, on the West Bank of Demerara. In a joint statement, Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maritime Administration (MARAD) confirmed they received a report about the pipeline and identified an irregularity during an initial probe. The agencies noted that the anomaly had been “thoroughly investigated” in a preliminary assessment, but they have released no further details about the nature of the abnormality or the findings of that initial probe.
Despite the joint statement’s promise that the government would deliver “accurate, timely updates” to the public and called on residents to verify claims through official channels to avoid unnecessary panic among West Coast Demerara communities, multiple regulatory and corporate officials have declined to answer pressing questions from reporters. Questions submitted to EPA head Khemraj Parsram, MARAD spokespeople, EPA representatives, and ExxonMobil Guyana – the operator behind the pipeline project – about whether the anomaly is a bend, warp, pinhole, or other defect, what the initial investigation found, and if any remedial work is currently underway to address the issue, have gone unanswered. A request for comment from ExxonMobil Guyana on what is causing the observed water bubbling also received no response.
Officials have unequivocally rejected Mohamed’s repeated claims of a pipeline rupture, pushing back even after an earlier initial denial from Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat. The joint statement emphasizes that the pipeline is not yet active, with no natural gas currently flowing through the line. “As there is no gas passing through the line, there can be no leak or damage of the nature suggested in these reports,” the agencies said.
MARAD and EPA added that additional inspections are ongoing out of an abundance of caution, to confirm the pipeline’s structural integrity in line with standard industry safety protocols. They also explained that the surface activity observed near MT Telesto is tied to a scheduled three-month inspection of the subsea pipeline that ExxonMobil Guyana launched in May 2026. The inspection work, which involves five vessels operating along the Demerara West Coast, was the subject of a prior public notice from MARAD, and area boaters and residents were notified of the activity in advance, the agencies added.