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OGGN flags bloated costs recovered by ExxonMobil
…as Bank of Guyana figure varies from company reports
(Kaieteur News) – As Guyanese continue to zero into the operations of ExxonMobil and its statements provided to the press, a glaring disparity has been unearthed which points to billions being unaccounted for.
The Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN) this week raised concerns over recent remarks by ExxonMobil’s Vice President and Business Services Manager, John Colling who revealed that the company recovered a whopping US$51B from Guyana’s oil, up to the end of December 2025.
ExxonMobil Headquarters at Ogle, East Coast Demerara
The overseas based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) compared the amount recovered by the American oil giant to the total revenue generated in the Stabroek Block, according to the Bank of Guyana (BoG). To this end, the technical group discovered that ExxonMobil took out more revenue for cost recovery than it was allowed during the period 2020 to 2025.
In accordance with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), ExxonMobil is allowed to take 75% of oil produced each month to recover its investments to develop the resources in Stabroek.
Notably, OGGN said the Bank of Guyana reported that the block generated US$61.3B during the period. This means that 75% for cost should be about US$46B, yet, the company revealed that a staggering US$51B was recovered during the period- some US$5B more than contractually allowed.
The Network explained, “Under the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement, up to 75% of oil revenue may be allocated to cost recovery. Therefore, if Exxon and its partners recovered US$51 billion in costs, total oil revenue would have had to be at least: US$51 billion ÷ 75% = US$68 billion. This is at least US$6.7 billion more than the US$61.3 billion indicated by the Bank of Guyana’s reports.”
OGGN called on the Government of Guyana (GoG) to address the differences clearly and publicly.
It noted that it is currently unclear whether government and the oil companies are using different production volumes, different realised oil prices, different accounting periods or different definitions of revenue, as any of these could contribute to the discrepancies.
OOGN members questioned how the public could verify that the royalty and profit-oil payments received by Guyana are accurate if the government cannot establish the accurate amount of oil revenue for the years in question.
Guyana commenced oil production in December 2019 but began earning from the sector in 2020. Currently four, Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) are producing oil in the Stabroek Block.
Guyana earns 12.5% profits after Exxon takes 75% of the revenue for costs. The other 12.5% profit goes to the Stabroek Block Co-Venturers. Guyana is also paid 2% royalty on every barrel produced each quarter.
The formula used to calculate Guyana’s profits have frequently been questioned as the oil companies continue to report higher profits when compared to Guyana’s share.
Kaieteur News reported that Exxon and partners made five times the revenue earned by Guyana in 2025.
This is significant since the country is entitled to 50% of profits generated in the Stabroek Block, while the contractor, EMGL enjoys the remaining 50%.
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