Key report exposes three new oil discoveries were made in 2025 but kept quiet by Exxon, Govt.

Nov 23, 2025 News

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Hiding reserves?

(Kaieteur News) – Amid speculations that the Stabroek Block reserves are being grossly understated, a major leak has occurred sparking fresh concerns about the incestuous relationship between the government of Guyana and American oil giant, ExxonMobil.

No new oil discoveries were announced by the government for the year or its energy partner. Be that as it may, the Mid-Year Report published by the Ministry of Finance made a bombshell disclosure, a whopping three oil discoveries reportedly made by the contractor for 2025.

The Mid-Year Report states, “Moreover, three discoveries were made in the Stabroek Block in 2025, including two in the first half of the year.”

The document goes on to note that the operator not only bagged new discoveries, but also continued appraisal activity across the block to assess its earlier finds. According to the Mid-Year report, “Together with these new finds, focus in the first half was primarily on appraising existing discoveries to gather further information on those reservoirs. The second half of this year and 2026, will see increased exploratory activities in search of new discoveries.”

After stumbling upon the shocking revelation, this newspaper contacted the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat and ExxonMobil to confirm whether any oil finds were made for the year. While Bharrat did not provide any clarity on the situation, EMGL’s Advocacy Communications Advisor, Kwesi Isles in a media group confirmed that the company did not make any discoveries public. He said, “I just ran through this chat and didn’t see any (oil discoveries announced). I’m sure it would have been in here if we had.”

This new development raises serious concerns about the management of the country’s oil resources. Both government and ExxonMobil have been facing stark backlash for the secretive manner in which the sector continues to be managed.

Notably, stakeholders have continuously questioned how Guyana’s oil reserve remained stagnant over the past three years, despite the announcement of additional discoveries by Exxon.

ExxonMobil is the operator of Guyana’s largest oil block- Stabroek- where the company first discovered oil in 2015. Since then, there has been a string of successful finds, taking the total discoveries to 46 by the end of 2024.

In April 2022, Exxon said the reserves in the Stabroek Block totaled 11 billion barrels. After mounting public pressure, two years and eight discoveries after the last resource update, government said this grew to 11.6B. Notably, although Exxon supplies government with data, the company said its estimate of the resources was lower than 11B barrels.

President of EMGL, Alistair Routledge explained, “The government released a number of 11.6B oil equivalent barrels, ExxonMobil’s estimate is lower than that number…our number remains a little under 11 billion oil equivalent barrels.”

Meanwhile, in explaining the variation between Exxon’s figures compared to the reserves announced by government, Routledge noted that the state conducts independent studies, although it is supplied with data by the company.

Previously, the former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams explained that the American oil major could be hiding Guyana’s true oil reserves, as this would reduce the sum that could be deducted by the company for decommissioning activities.

Decommissioning refers to the cleanup and restoration of the environment following the end of the life of an oil project. It involves the safe plugging of wells and removal of equipment used during the operations, including the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

He noted, “If you read the contract, and this might be tied to something else, because remember the issue that was raised about the money being withdrawn for decommissioning that goes into Exxon’s Bank Account? The amount that is being withdrawn is calculated and here is how that amount is being calculated: it’s being calculated by dividing the (decommissioning) budget…you divide that number by the reserves and then you multiply it by the amount that has been produced.”

Consequently, the former head of the EPA noted, “Right now they are dividing by 11B barrels, if you divide it by let’s say 18B barrels…you are reducing it by almost half as to what they can withdraw for decommissioning so is there a suspicion that is tied to it?”

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• discovery, ExxonMobil, Mid-Year Report, oil, reserves

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