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Hess recovers full investment in Guyana – 2025 financials
…as country yet to receive full 50% profits
(Kaieteur News) – Hess Guyana Exploration Limited, a 30% stakeholder in the Stabroek Block has recovered all contributions made by the head office according to the oil company’s 2025 financials.
In his Sunday column ‘Every Man, Woman and Child Must Become Oil Minded’ published by Kaieteur News, chartered accountant and attorney, Christopher Ram conducted an analysis of the company’s 2025 returns.
Chartered Accountant and Attorney, Christopher Ram.
Ram highlighted, among other things, that over the life of its operations in Guyana, the branch received approximately GY$717.7 billion in Head Office Contributions to finance exploration, development and operational activities. This amounts to about US$3.6 billion at an average exchange rate of $200.
The newspaper columnist explained, “Over time, however, those sums were fully repaid. By December 31, 2025, the balance had fallen to nil, meaning Hess had completely recovered every dollar of its invested capital – not from loans or external financing, but directly from earnings generated in Guyana.”
Notably, the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) Guyana signed with the Stabroek Co-Venturers allow 75% of production to be deducted for expenses relating to operations in the block. The remaining 25% is split with Guyana receiving 12.5% of profits and an additional 2% royalty which is paid every quarter.
Ram pointed out that the recovery of the company’s investment was not the only glaring highlight on the financials, but the fact that Hess recorded net income last year of GY$605.45 billion or approximately US$3 billion – more than Guyana’s earnings during the same period which reached a mere US$2.5 billion.
The unusually large Stabroek Block now measures about 24,000 square kilometers.
He said, “After recording net income of GY$605.45 billion in 2025 alone, the branch reports an accumulated surplus of GY$1.741 trillion at 31st December 2025, up from GY$1.417 trillion in 2024.”
Comparing the company’s profits to Guyana’s revenue, the chartered accountant highlighted that the country’s National Budget for 2026 is set at $1.558 trillion, yet Hess’s accumulated profits from the Stabroek Block exceed the State’s total annual budget. He added that the company’s accumulated revenue is some four times the Guyana Revenue Authority’s projected tax collections for 2026, a reality that should make every Guyanese seethe with anger.
Ram reasoned, “Only months ago, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh boasted about presenting the “largest budget ever.” Yet the retained profits of a single foreign oil company operating in Guyana now exceed the amount the government proposes to spend on the entire country in a year. This is the real meaning of President Irfaan Ali’s obsession with “sanctity of contract” – political servitude disguised as policy. While Exxon, Hess and CNOOC reap profits larger than Guyana’s National Budget, the president defends a contract so lopsided that no leader genuinely committed to his people could justify it.”
Guyana currently has four Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) producing oil in the Stabroek Block. Hess holds 30 per cent in the block while ExxonMobil holds 45 per cent and CNOOC 25 per cent.
After the companies recover their investments, Guyana will be entitled to 50 per cent of the revenue generated in the block after operating expense is cleared.
In March, ExxonMobil revealed that approximately US$5 billon was remaining in the cost bank. When this cost is recovered Guyana’s share would increase significantly from 12.5 per cent to 50 per cent.
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