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Public Confirmation Required from GRA on Minister of Natural Resources’ Tax Payments for ExxonMobil and its Partners

Feb 23, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

Our letter entitled “Is ExxonMobil depriving the US Treasury of Tax Revenues?” ” (Kaieteur News, February 16, 2025) raised important concerns about the issuance of tax certificates and the implications for Guyana’s oil revenues. One day before its publication, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira expressed concerns about the use of “non-empirical, non-scientific data” by any organization (Demerara Waves, February 15, 2025).

Heartened by Minister Teixeira’s implicit commitment to empirical and scientific data, the Oil & Gas Governance Network Guyana (OGGN) writes to request that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), under the leadership of Commissioner-General Mr. Godfrey Statia, publicly confirm whether the Minister of Natural Resources has indeed fulfilled the obligation stipulated in the 2016 Petroleum Agreement (also known as the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement) to pay taxes on behalf of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, along with its partners Hess Corporation, and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) using Guyana’s share of oil revenues for the years 2020 to 2023.

This matter is of significant public interest, given the critical role such payments play in determining the nation’s net oil revenues and overall economic transparency. The Guyana Revenue Authority has not published any annual reports since 2016, meaning there is no public record confirming whether the Minister of Natural Resources has indeed made these tax payments on behalf of ExxonMobil and its partners. Article 15.4 of the Petroleum Agreement explicitly outlines that the Government of Guyana is responsible for remitting these taxes, which, according to the agreement, are considered part of the contractor’s income and corporate tax obligations.

The issuance of tax certificates to ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC, as stipulated in the agreement, raises serious concerns about whether these payments have actually been made and properly documented. Furthermore, it is essential for the public to understand whether these payments align with the nation’s best fiscal interests and international tax compliance standards. ExxonMobil Guyana, Hess and CNOOC have reported obtaining Tax Certificates from the Guyana Revenue Authority amounting to 2.8 billion USD for the years 2020 to 2023, further underscoring the need for official confirmation of these payments.

Given Mr. Statia’s leadership of the GRA and the agency’s responsibility in overseeing tax administration in Guyana, OGGN urges him to publicly clarify the following:

  1. Has the Minister of Natural Resources made the required tax payments on behalf of ExxonMobil and its partners for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023? If this is indeed the case, which fund was extracted or which government budget code was charged to pay the Contractor’s taxes as required by article 15.4 of the 2016 Petroleum Agreement?
  2. Has the GRA issued corresponding tax certificates for these payments? To whom (name and position of company official), and when (dates) did the GRA issue the corresponding tax certificates for these payments, and what exactly was certified?
  3. What is the total sum of tax payments made from Guyana’s share of oil revenues to cover ExxonMobil and its partners’ obligations?
  4. Has there been any independent audit or verification of these payments, and where is the public documentation confirming this?

Transparency, not “non-empirical, non-scientific data” (Minister Teixeira), in the management of the nation’s oil wealth is paramount. The Guyanese people deserve clear and factual answers on whether tax payments have been executed in accordance with the law. We trust that Mr. Statia, in his capacity as Commissioner-General, will provide a public statement addressing these concerns in the interest of accountability and good governance.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your publication facilitating this critical discussion.

Sincerely,

Andre Brandli

Janette Bulkan

Kenrick Hunte

Darshand Khusial

for the Oil & Gas Governance Network Guyana (OGGN; www.oggn.org )

(Public Confirmation Required from GRA on Minister of Natural Resources’ Tax Payments for ExxonMobil and its Partners)

(Public Confirmation Required)

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