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CNOOC with 12.5% stake in Stabroek Block raked in US$2.5B in 2025 while Guyana with 50% earned US$2.47B – financials
(Kaieteur News) – CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (CNOOC), a 25% shareholder in the Stabroek Block in 2025 bagged larger profits than this country received, although half of the total revenue generated should be deposited to the nation’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF).
According to the company’s financial statements seen by this newspaper, CNOOC recorded GY$503,358,000,000 in net income before taxes. This is equivalent to US$2.516B at an exchange rate of $200. As part of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the company does not pay taxes to Guyana.
The company’s earnings for last year have surpassed the total revenue Guyana received during the period, although the country is entitled to half the profits generated in the Stabroek Block; not only that but the country is supposedly paid 2% royalty on gross production, meaning Guyana’s revenue should be larger than the oil companies’ share.
Presently Guyana is producing about 920,000 barrels per day (bpd) with four projects currently in operation. A fifth project is expected to come online before the end of this year. The startup of that development, Uaru, will increase Guyana’s daily capacity to approximately 1.2 million barrels.
To date, Guyana has sanctioned seven deepwater projects, with the oil companies seeking permits for another two. In 2027, the sixth project- Whiptail- is likely to startup while the seventh- Hammerhead- is poised to commence operations in 2029.
CNOOC’s financial statements for 2025.
Last week Kaieteur News reported that Hess Guyana Exploration Limited with 30% interest in the block recorded GY$605B in after tax income or US$3B.
In accordance with the PSA, ExxonMobil takes 75% of production to cover petroleum related expenses in the Stabroek Block. The remaining 25% is split between Guyana and the contractor as profits, with the country receiving 12.5% and the company receiving 12.5%.
Although the country is entitled to half of the revenue, Guyana’s share continues to be outpaced by the profits recorded by the three Stabroek Block partners, Exxon, Hess and CNOOC.
Recently, Kaieteur News reported that between 2020 and 2024, ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC, the Stabroek Block partners recorded massive profits, amounting to US$29B while barely US$5.4B flowed into the NRF during the same period.
Highlighting this was the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN), a non-profit body registered in New York, comprising Guyanese scholars based locally and abroad.
In a statement shared with this newspaper, OGGN demonstrated a stark difference in the profits received by Guyana and the oil companies.
The NGO explained that some US$9.1B is missing from the country’s oil account, in accordance with the Petroleum Agreement and financials of the three companies.
It said, “The core issue presented is straightforward: Based on a 50/50 profit-sharing model and a total estimated profit oil of US$29B, Guyana was expected to receive profit oil of US$14.5B. However, inspecting Bank of Guyana audited financial statements, see https://bankofguyana.org.gy/bog/publications/natural-resource-fund/audited-financial-statements, the actual amount of profit oil Guyana received from 2020 to 2024was US$5.4B.”
This therefore means that instead of 50% profits, Guyana only saw 18.6% of profits generated over the period.
To this end, OGGN said, “The public deserves to understand how this substantial shortfall occurred. We urge the Government of Guyana to provide a comprehensive, transparent account of the oil revenue management process. This must include a clear explanation of all deductions and costs that reduce Guyana’s share (and) a plan to strengthen independent oversight of the sector.”
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