The Financial Post reports in its Friday, March 1, edition that it is unusual for disagreements between the world's largest oil companies to become public knowledge. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that it is even more uncommon for a dispute to have the potential to cost $53-billion. However, the oil reserves present beneath the coastal waters of Guyana are so valuable that Exxon Mobil is willing to fight in court over the legal complexities of a contract signed ten years ago. The aim is to keep the majority of the riches to itself and prevent Chevron from accessing them. The outcome of the legal battle has significant consequences, including the possibility of ruining Chevron's acquisition of Hess. Exxon this week said it is considering exercising rights to acquire the Hess interest the Guyana project. A win for Exxon, which owns 45 per cent of the project, would enhance the stock-market premium it derives from being the sole Western supermajor with a share in the world's fastest-growing major oil development. Victory for Chevron would mean it gains Hess's 30-per-cent interest in Exxon's marquee project, narrows the valuation gap with its larger rival and provides low-cost production growth for years.