…Govt. silent as full 50-50 profit split now due
By: Davina Bagot
(Kaieteur News) – ExxonMobil has recovered all of its investments made in Guyana to date, a development that now entitles the country to benefit from 50% or half of the oil being produced in the Stabroek Block.

The revelation was made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Exxon, Darren Woods during the company’s July 31, 2026 earnings call for the second quarter.

Exxon CEO and Chairman, Darren Woods

He told shareholders, “The success of this development has set a new standard for the industry, and frankly, has exceeded our own expectations. Delivering on tight schedules, at industry-leading cost – with strong reliability and optimised production – has resulted in recovering our capital and cost nearly two years earlier than anticipated, increasing NPV, and desaturating the cost bank.”

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Exxon, Neil Hansen offered clarity, “…as we mentioned, at this point, we’ve fully recovered the $55 billion of investment, along with all the operating costs and the way the contractor agreement works is we can recover that investment up to 75%. After that, the remaining production is shared 50/50 between us and the government of Guyana.”

Hansen further noted that the company’s share of oil from the Stabroek Block will decline as a result of the development.

ExxonMobil discovered oil in commercial quantities in Guyana’s Stabroek Block in 2015. The company later began producing oil in December 2019. To date, seven oil projects have been approved, with ExxonMobil eyeing two additional developments.

In accordance with the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), the contractor is allowed to deduct 75% of the oil produced monthly to recover its investments. The remaining 25% is then split with Guyana as profits, meaning the country collects 12.5% of profits.

After Exxon recovers its investment, the country will be entitled to 50% of the oil produced, after the operator takes out operating expenses.

In March this year, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL), Alistair Routledge said the country was on track to clear all expenses related to the seven approved projects by the end of 2026.

President of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge

He explained, “We were anticipating sometime next year in 2027 that we were going to get to the point where we had recovered those historic cost probably largely because of just increasing volumes of production that were generating higher and higher revenues to offset the ongoing expenditures plus recover historic costs. What we are now seeing in this price environment is that will accelerate.”

Be that as it may, the Country Manager did not specifically highlight Guyana’s share moving to 50%. Instead, Routledge said, “If you stay at the current oil price then it will happen this year based on the level of expenditures and the production that we anticipate so that’s a significant acceleration. What that then means is that instead roughly the 14 and a half percent that the country has been receiving by way of revenues into the Natural Resource Fund from the Stabroek production and revenues, what will happen is that percentage will significantly increase.”

At that time, he told reporters approximately US$5B was still to be recovered.

Subsequently, in June, Kaieteur News reported based on an in-house analysis that Guyana has paid off ExxonMobil the full cost of seven oil projects approved to date by government.

Using an average oil price of US$80 per barrel, considering daily production for the year so far at approximately 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), the Stabroek Block generated approximately US$12.3B in revenue up to 20th June, 2026.

According to the oil deal, 75% of revenue is dedicated to cost, as such, it could be estimated that US$9.2B went towards cost, far more than the US$5B that needed to be recovered according to Exxon.

This means that Guyana should already be receiving its full 50% profits outlined in the PSA as the cost of all seven oil projects sanctioned by the GoG has been repaid.

Silence from Govt.
Notably, the major development in Guyana’s petroleum sector was announced by Exxon to its shareholders while government has not said a word to the nation regarding the increased revenue flow into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) as a result of the cost bank now being empty.

The government has repeatedly praised itself for its “transparent” management of the industry, yet this major development, expected to significantly impact the country’s revenue generation was not shared with the public.

In fact, questions sent to the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat requesting a cost recovery update since 31st July, 2026 was ignored.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat

Similarly, EMGL did not respond to queries from Kaieteur News sent since 23rd July, regarding the balance remaining in the cost bank or clarification on whether the company’s total investment has been recovered.

The public therefore must know when the cost bank was cleared and whether Guyana is now receiving its 50% profit in keeping with the PSA.

Vice President and Chief Policymaker for the Oil and Gas sector, Bharrat Jagdeo

Further, government must explain how future projects will be managed financially as approving another development will add more costs for the country to repay. This means that the country can go back to receiving 12.5% unless it implements a ring-fencing provision to ensure that new projects are self-financed or paid for when oil production starts at that development.

Come clean
Last month, the Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed demanded answers from the GoG on whether the country has managed to repay ExxonMobil.

He told this newspaper, “If indeed ExxonMobil and its partners have fully recovered their initial investment in the Stabroek Block, then the government owes the Guyanese people an explanation. Why has there been no official announcement? Why has the public not been updated on the current cost recovery figures, the amount remaining in the cost bank?”

Mohamed highlighted that Exxon itself revealed that the country will clear all costs for the seven projects by 2026 yet government has been silent.

He argued, “The government must tell us whether new development, exploration, and other recoverable costs are still being deducted from oil revenues and at what rate.”

The leader went on to question, “Are these costs continuing to prevent Guyana from receiving a larger share of revenues, or is Guyana now receiving the full 50% share of profit oil after allowable expenses? If Exxon’s initial investment has been fully recovered, where is the money going? Could the PPP provide information on the portion of that revenue allocated to the natural resources fund?”

Mohamed stressed that the subject is of national importance involving billions of US-dollars in wealth that belongs to the people of Guyana. In fact, he maintained that the government cannot remain silent or leave the public to speculate on the costs being recovered by Exxon.

Original link posted by Kaieteur News/a> on August 07, 2026