United States Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, has warned against renegotiating the Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with U.S oil giant ExxonMobil and its co-venturers.
Since oil production began in Guyana in 2019, there have been sustained calls for the Government of Guyana and Exxon to agree to new fiscal terms, which would include raising the Royalty from 2%.
In an interview on SOURCES last Sunday, Ambassador Theriot warned that such a move would be dangerous.
“As the representative of the U.S Government, I can tell you it is incredibly dangerous to start talking about renegotiation of a contract that has been agreed upon. That sends a terrible signal to international investors all over the world that you can’t trust what you have signed with a Government that is willing to renegotiate. Now, that is a really negative signal that you don’t want to be sending right now, as you are trying to attract more, and more international investments, that is a very bad idea,” Ambassador Theriot said.
ExxonMobil has long indicated that it has no interest in invoking any clause within the Stabroek Block 2016 PSA that could result in changes to the fiscal terms, stating that such a move could undermine future investments in the country.
The company said the investments made to date were based on the existing agreement, and any modification to the investment could undermine the whole premise of those investments.
To date, Exxon has invested more than US$40 billion in the Stabroek Block.
Under the 2016 PSA, the operators can recover costs up to 75% and the remainder, which is considered the profit, is split 50/50 between the operators and the Government. The Government also receives a 2% royalty.
Though sections of Guyana have remained critical of the agreement,contending that Guyanese are not reaping the benefits, Ambassador Theriot said the contract has been beneficial to the people of Guyana.
“From my perspective, I think it has been incredibly beneficial to both sides. I just look around, when I travel around the country, in fact I was just in Region One this weekend, I was in Shell Beach in Mabaruma and Imbotero and anyway you look you will see signs and at the bottom it would say supported by ExxonMobil. They are doing incredible work all over this country. I think we all know a little thing called CPL, also sponsored or co-sponsored by Exxon. So many things that are happening in the country are because you have these US companies here, specifically, you have that ExxonMobil consortium,” the Ambassador reasoned.
Ambassador Theriot said not so long ago, Exxon announced a US$100 million, 10-year investment programme to revolutionize Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Guyana.
“There is no doubt for me that Guyanese are benefiting. If you look at the Technical Training Center – there are 11 FPSO simulators in the world, and one of them is in Guyana’s Technical Training Center. They helped build that center in Berbice, which will also do training for other sectors,” Ambassador Theriot said.
The U.S Ambassador also alluded to the country’s rapid economic growth, infrastructure development, and improvements in the Health Sector among others.
While Guyana, at present, is benefiting from 14.5% of the oil produced in the Stabroek Block, the US Envoy is confident that once Exxon’s investment costs are recouped by 2027, the country stands to benefit even more.
Original link posted by News Sourcegy on April 02, 2026.
