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Exxon slaps Guyana with whopping US$2.3B exploration bill
— as country collects less than US$1B in royalties to date
(Kaieteur News) – Guyana has been handed a bill for approximately US$2.3B by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) for exploration activities conducted in the Stabroek Block, but to date, the country has accumulated less than US$1B in royalties since production commenced in 2019.
ExxonMobil financial statements indicating the sum spent on exploration between 2021 and 2024
Notably, oil-producing states around the world, including neighbouring Suriname have blocked oil companies from recovering costs spent to hunt for oil. Guyana on the other hand not only allows Exxon to recover costs for wells successfully drilled, but even dry holes encountered in the process.
Before production activities commenced, Exxon claimed US$1.6B for exploration activity in the Stabroek Block during the period 1999 to 2017. Additionally, the company’s Annual Reports and financial statements for the period 2020 to 2024 show that another US$666.1M was racked up again for exploration activity. It was reported that in 2020, some US$100M was spent to explore the block.
Meanwhile, in 2021, the company said US$131.2M was spent and another US$43.7M in 2022. Moreover, Exxon handed Guyana an additional US$277.5M and US$113.7M in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
This means Guyana has received a whopping US$2,266,100,000 for exploration works by the oil major. Since the country commenced producing oil, it has received less than US$1B in royalty, as at June 30, 2025. The Natural Resource Fund (NRF) second quarter report, published by the Bank of Guyana indicates that by the end of June 2025, Guyana’s total 2% royalty, since the inception of the Fund, only amounted to US$955,781,444.
The sweetheart deal signed by ExxonMobil in 2016 allows the company to recover costs related to its exploration activities, even if those efforts do not produce oil. Additionally, the contract stipulates that the contractor shall pay 2% of all petroleum produced and sold, to the government as royalty.
This provision, along with several others have been criticized by both local and international experts in the past, who are adamant that all companies take on financial risk as the cost of doing business where they operate.
In its 2024 Annual Report published this year, Exxon stated, “Exploration and appraisal activity in the Stabroek Block is critical to enhance understanding of the block’s potential, in order to increase value and inform future development opportunities.”
The company reported that eight exploration and appraisal wells were completed in 2024 with activity extending across the block in the northwest, southeast, and central areas. Meanwhile, the oil giant revealed that it will be targeting at least one more discovery this year to augment the 11 billion barrels of resources already discovered there. So far, ExxonMobil has made 46 discoveries in the 6.6 million acres block, as pointed out by Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh in his 2025 Budget presentation.
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Only thing I can be absolutely certain of is that whatever Exxon and their cohorts spout, you can rest assured it is a lie. Anything posited by these people should be treated as a lie until proven true