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The deal was signed following six months of negotiations that were held at a record pace, said John Ardill, ExxonMobil’s vice president of global exploration.

There are “no guarantees of success,� Ardill cautioned during the ceremony. “But many of the largest discoveries and developments in the world are occurring in deep-water environments similar to what you have here.�

Ardill said is committed to starting a geophysical survey in the next six months to collect data needed to identify prospects for oil and gas, after which, it will begin drilling for testing.

Using nearby Guyana as an example, Ardill said it took the country less than five years to start producing oil after the initial discovery. He noted that 10 years after that discovery, Guyana is around 650,000 barrels of oil per day.

“We see great potential to replicate the Guyana success here,� Ardill told the audience in Trinidad.

While promising to help expedite the process, Trinidad and Tobago’s said the necessary oversight and guardrails will be in place to ensure standards are not compromised.

The prime minister said the agreement with ExxonMobil provides additional energy security for the Caribbean nation of approximately 1.4 million people. She noted that while there would be efforts to reduce carbon emissions during the project, Trinidad and Tobago would not hold back on using its energy resources.

“The Northern Hemisphere developed their countries to the fullest and are now trying to put on us that we should clamp down on our carbon emissions, (that) we should look not too much to hydrocarbons,� Persad-Bissessar said. “Trinidad and Tobago has a competitive advantage when it comes to hydrocarbons, when it comes to the energy sector, and we should not lightly surrender that.�

ExxonMobil first began operations in the twin-island republic in February 1998, but left in 2003 after its exploration efforts were unsuccessful.

The ExxonMobil deal comes after a planned energy production partnership involving Trinidad and Tobago and neighboring was halted by the U.S. government revoking two Office of Foreign Assets Control licenses for the partnership. The licenses were necessary due to U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s energy industry.

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This story corrects the depth of the area to be explored to 6,500 feet (2,000 meters).