GUYANA President Irfaan Ali slammed an incursion by an armed Venezuelan naval vessel on Saturday into disputed waters that are home to a mammoth offshore oil deposit being developed by ExxonMobil.

In a televised address, Mr Ali said Guyana was hurriedly notifying all of its international allies and had summoned Venezuela’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest.

“This incursion is a matter of grave concern,” he said.