Chevron will look out for Guyana’s interest alongside Exxon - Jagdeo

Chevron will look out for Guyana’s interest alongside Exxon – Jagdeo

Jul 27, 2025 News

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

Kaieteur News – Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo is confident that United States oil company Chevron will look out for Guyana’s interest alongside Exxon as they extract the country’s oil from the Stabroek Block.

According to Jagdeo, Chevron can hold Exxon accountable, ultimately reducing inflated costs and maximizing Guyana’s share from the oil.

On Thursday, he was asked to state the implications of Chevron entering the Stabroek Block following its arbitration win against ExxonMobil. Jagdeo told reporters attending his weekly press conference that there are no immediate implications noting that the government sees a change in the ownership of the shares. He reminded that Guyana has no jurisdiction in the matter arbitration matter.

“…having another US major that had a kind of well, tense relationship with Exxon… So, Chevron is one of the shareholders now in Guyana (and) will be having acquired Hess’s shares and Exxon on the other side being another major shareholder that tension between the two could serve our country better,” Jagdeo told reporters.

The VP reminded that outside of being a shareholder in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil is also the operator. As a result, he believes the other shareholder will be looking at the operation costs, making “sure that those costs are minimized, and focus on maximizing output, because they as shareholders will be getting more money if that were to happen, the company is run more efficiently and if it’s run more efficiently it’s also maximizes our take.”

Giving an example to justify this view, he said that if the Kaieteur News has a fear that costs have been inflated by the operator in what is currently being audited, Chevron would share the same concern, as it is now a shareholder and inflated costs by the operator will affect them as well.

The Stabroek Block

On July 19, this publication reported that American oil giant, Chevron Corporation, is now a 30 per cent shareholder in Guyana’s Stabroek Block after completing the US$53 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation, following a favourable arbitration outcome regarding Hess’ Guyana asset.

Late 2023, the acquisition of Hess was announced. The deal gave Chevron access to Hess’ most valuable asset, a 30 per cent stake in the Stabroek Block, which is estimated to hold 11.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. However, the move prompted the other partners in the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to approach the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to examine their preemption rights over Hess’ share.

In May 2025, the oil companies, through their lawyers, faced off before a three-member arbitration tribunal. Exxon had argued that it wanted its right of first refusal recognised before deciding on its strategy for the Stabroek Block. Chevron, however, contended that it had conducted extensive due diligence on the operating agreement between Exxon and Hess in Guyana and had significant experience with similar agreements worldwide.

On July 18, it was announced that Chevron had completed the acquisition. Notably, had the arbitrator ruled in favor of Exxon and CNOOC, Chevron was prepared to walk away from the deal entirely.

In a statement, Chevron said, “the combined company has one of the most advantaged and differentiated portfolios in the industry, with leading positions in critical energy markets around the world and a high cash margin production profile.”

The oil major highlighted that the acquisition adds world-class assets, including Guyana and the U.S. Bakken, to its diversified global portfolio.

It was stated, “Chevron now owns a 30 per cent position in the Guyana Stabroek Block, which has more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered recoverable resource; 463 thousand net acres of high-quality inventory in the Bakken; complementary assets in the Gulf of America with 31 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day; and natural gas assets in Southeast Asia with 57 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.”

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Chevron, Exxon, Jagdeo, oil, Stabroek Block

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