Exxon confident it will win case to acquire Hess shares in Guyana

May 30, 2025 News

…as arbitration with Chevron concludes

Kaieteur News- Senior Vice President of Exxon Mobil Neil Chapman has expressed confidence that his company will be able to acquire the Hess shares in the lucrative Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.

According to a Reuters article on Thursday, Chapman was at the time speaking at a Bernstein conference on Thursday. The arbitration proceedings concluded this week and it is expected that a decision will be made withing the next two or three months. “While speaking at a Bernstein conference, Chapman said he was confident that a three-member arbitration panel would rule in Exxon’s favour and determine it had a right-of-first-refusal to purchase Hess’ stake in a Guyana oil joint venture operated by Exxon,” Reuters said.

Exxon confident it will win case to acquire Hess shares in Guyana

The Stabroek Block.

On May 25, this publication reported that Top U.S. oil producer ExxonMobil and Hess will meet face-to-face in a court hearing to determine the fate of Chevron’s, $53 billion deal to buy Hess and with it a prized stake in Guyana’s prolific oilfields.

The planned acquisition, announced in October 2023, is one of the oil industry’s biggest deals in years. It is key to Chevron CEO Mike Wirth’s strategy of improving the oil company’s performance. Exxon and China’s CNOOC, Hess’ partners in Guyana, filed arbitration disputes early last year, which have delayed the deal’s closing and caused Chevron to miss out on increased output and revenue.

Hess’ most attractive asset is its 30 per cent stake in the Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana, operated by Exxon. Guyana is one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers and the Stabroek Block is estimated to hold more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Exxon and CNOOC claim that they have a contractual right of first refusal to purchase Hess’ stake in the Guyana field.

Chevron and Hess argue the clause does not apply to the sale of the whole company. If they lose the arbitration and are unable to agree on an acceptable resolution with Exxon and CNOOC, the acquisition would fail, according to the terms of the deal.

Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil, Neil Chapman.

A three-member arbitration tribunal under the International Chamber of Commerce will analyse the dispute in a confidential hearing that starts on Monday in London.

The joint operating agreement in the Stabroek Block between Hess, Exxon and CNOOC is governed by UK law, according to a source familiar with the terms.

By the time the hearing kicks off, Hess, Exxon and CNOOC should have already submitted in writing the majority of the testimony that will be considered by the tribunal, according to four international arbitration attorneys who are familiar with the ICC’s procedures.

A spokesperson for Hess pointed to a previous filing that said the company expects a decision after the hearing in the third quarter, while an Exxon spokesperson referred back to previous public comments about the case. Chevron and CNOOC did not respond to requests for comment. Prior to the hearing, the companies may submit documents and written statements from witnesses or experts they have called on to support their claims in the dispute.

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arbitration, Chevron, Exxon, Hess, Stabroek Block

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