A ruling from Guyana’s high court could change the face of offshore oil drilling throughout the Caribbean, according to financial and legal analysts.

The ruling ordered the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require an independent liability insurance policy from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and an “unlimited guarantee” from its parent company, ExxonMobil, in the case of any damage caused by the company’s oil and gas development in the country.

“ExxonMobil Guyana and our Stabroek block co-venturers have adequate and appropriate insurance and proposed guarantees in an amount that exceeds industry precedents and an estimate of potential liability,” Exxon said in a statement.

The $600m (£481m) insurance policy EEPGL holds from Exxon’s wholly owned subsidiary Ancon UK Ltd, and its $2bn parent company guarantee is well below the potential cost of damages for a catastrophic event, however.

“BP has said it spent $69bn to meet its obligations after [the 2010] Deepwater [Horizon spill],” said Tom Sanzillo, the director of finance at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. That sum included the cost of immediate response and cleanup, economic claims from local residents as well as fishing and tourism businesses affected by the spill, legal settlements, and restoration.

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