In response to a question from local reporters on oil extraction in Guyana, Stabroek News (US taxpayers not subsidising Exxon’s operations here, October 14, 2025) reported that Mr. Alistair Rout-ledge, President of ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd. (EMGL) Country President, stated at a press conference on October 13, 2025, that “prior to 2023 we were not making profits here in Guyana.” We present below compelling evidence to the contrary:
1) Financial filings in Guyana by ESSO Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (now EMGL) show income of GY$132 billion (US$681 million) and GY$578 billion (US$2.98 billion) for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, respectively.
2) It appears EMGL reports to ExxonMobil Luxembourg et Cie, not directly to ExxonMobil U.S. In the 2022 filing titled Report on Payments to Governments in respect of Extractive Activities (filed in Luxembourg), page 5 lists payments of US$306 million to the Guyana Revenue Authority – taxes that are, by definition, paid on profits.
3) According to Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Quarterly Report for October 1 – December 31, 2022 (page 15, Table 6), total Profit Oil inflows into the NRF from March 11, 2020, to December 30, 2022, were US$1.05 billion from Liza Destiny and US$589 million from Liza Unity, respectively. Under the 2016 Petroleum Agreement, these profits are split 50/50 between Guyana and the oil companies exploiting the Stabroek Block. This confirms that profit distributions, and therefore company profits, were occurring well before 2023.
A critical question arises: if EMGL reported profits of US$2.98 billion in 2022, why did Guyana’s NRF receive only about US$1.1 billion in profit oil that year? Given that ExxonMobil holds only a 45% share in the Stabroek Block consortium, the implied total profits for all partners would be about US$6.6 billion. When the oil companies’ combined profits appear to be six times Guyana’s share, the supposed 50/50 profit split warrants explanation.
Sincerely,
C. Kenrick Hunte
Andre Brandli
Janette Bulkan
Mike Persaud
Joe Persaud
Ganga Ramdas
Darsh Khusial
On behalf of the Oil & Gas Governance Network Guyana (www.oggn.org/about) a 501(c)(3)
