Latest update September 22nd, 2026 10:30 AM
ExxonMobil reports US$1.1B tax payment to Guyana
…but lopsided contract means none was paid
(Kaieteur News) – American oil major, Exxon Mobil Corporation has reported a tax payment to the Government of Guyana (GoG) in 2025 of more than US$1B, although the country did not receive any such payment.
In its 2025 Annual Report filed with the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company disclosed that it paid a total income tax of US$11.563B for its global operations. Exxon said it paid some US$1.1B to Guyana.
In accordance with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), ExxonMobil does not pay taxes to the GoG. In fact, the sweetheart deal Exxon signed states in Article 15.1 that the Contractor (ExxonMobil Guyana Limited) as well as its affiliates shall not be subjected to tax, value-added tax, excise tax, duty, fee, charge, or impost in respect of income derived from petroleum operations, property held or transactions except as specified under the agreement.
President Irfaan Ali (center) engaging CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp, Darren Woods (left) and President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge (right) during a recent reception at State House.
Further, Article 15.4 states that the sum equivalent to the taxes owed by the company will be paid by the Minister responsible for Petroleum to the Commissioner General of the GRA. It should be noted that the contract also allows for the issuing of a receipt to ExxonMobil, indicating that it has met the local tax requirements to avoid the burden of double taxation.
This questionable arrangement recently came under scrutiny by the U.S government as three senators wrote to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Exxon, Darren Woods about its tax practices in Guyana. Meanwhile, President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge when questioned by local reporters on the issue said that the company did not apply for any tax credits in the US for its operations in Guyana.
In October 2025, he said that the company was still working with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on the tax receipts that should be issued in keeping with the terms Petroleum Agreement. According to him, “Exxon Mobil Corporation in its 23, 24 tax filings, there were no Guyanese tax credits that were included in either of those filings and you will recall that, prior to 2023, we were not making profits here in Guyana, so there were no tax credits from that. So, from this point up until this point, there have been no Guyana tax credits that have been used by Exxon.”
Subsequently, Chartered Accountant and prominent Attorney, Christopher Ram accused Exxon of making misleading and inaccurate statements to cover its tracks of what may be the most brazen accounting fiction in the country’s history.
In flagging a blatantly misleading statement provided by Routledge, Ram pointed out that the branch distributed some $674,454 million and still ended the year with more funds than at the beginning of 2024. Ram explained that while the EMGL President is performing confusion tactics openly, the financial statements of the three partners expose glaring misinformation regarding profits earned by the Stabroek Block partners in Guyana.
In conclusion, the lawyer reasoned that the companies all report tax payments, recognize it as revenue and enjoy the credit. He however questioned the lack of evidence for the tax payments since the contract clearly states that the minister must pay the GRA taxes owed by the oil companies out of Guyana’s share of oil, following which the tax body will issue a receipt and “proper tax certificates in the Contractor’s name”.
“Article 15 states that the tax must be paid from the Government’s share of oil revenue. Where, then, is the evidence of that payment? The Natural Resource Fund shows no deduction, no debit, no outflow. But no one – including the NRF investment committee and the auditors – seem to care a hoot,” the lawyer argued.
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