ExxonMobile ship in the disputed Stabroek block. Photo: ExxonMobil.
The profits received by the Guyanese national treasury are minuscule compared to the enormous profits to be reaped by the US oil company ExxonMobil from the exploitation of crude oil in the Stabroek block, located in waters that have not yet been delimited with Venezuela. Although this fact has caused the historical dispute between both nations to heat up, it is paradoxical that Guyana is the least favored in this equation.
Guyanese news outlet Kaieteur News reported that of the US $16.8 billion in oil exports that will be generated in 2024, Guyana is expected to receive only US $2.1 billion, while ExxonMobil and its partners in the Stabroek block will take US $14.7 billion dollars.
Thus, Guyana’s share represents only 12.5% of ExxonMobil’s profits from oil exploitation the disputed region.
Likewise, the report states that of the 202 projected crude oil lifts, Guyana will obtain only 25. Since each case will be approximately one million barrels, Guyana’s, this year, retains rights to only 25 million barrels of crude oil. As ExxonMobil pays Guyana 2% of royalties, the government expects to receive $320 million this year. In total, the country would be receiving about US $2.4 billion dollars from oil production in 2024.
However, this amount is paltry when compared to the US $14.7 billion that ExxonMobil and its partners will earn—over US $12.6 billion more than the expected Guyanese revenue from oil exports.
These unequal gains are due to the tax terms of ExxonMobile’s purchase and sale agreement (PSA), which it conveniently has maintained since the previous administration. That the US oil corporation is fueling the conflict over the Essequibo territory dispute with Venezuela is a sign of its interest in the enormous profits generated by exploitation of the Stabroek block. Paying the lawyers who defend Guyana in international bodies is a negligible investment when compared to what ExxonMobil will gain if the theft of the Venezuelan territory and resources are consummated.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
