ExxonMobil Guyana’s president, Alistair Routledge, said Thursday that the company could recover its remaining historic investments in Guyana earlier than previously expected if current oil prices and production levels hold — a development that could allow Guyana to receive a larger share of profits before 2027.
Routledge told reporters at ExxonMobil’s Ogle headquarters that the company had been steadily drawing down its “historical bank of costs” and had earlier anticipated full cost recovery in 2027. He said the recent higher oil‑price environment, driven in part by the Middle East conflict, could accelerate that timeline. “We don’t forecast oil prices, but 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,” he said.
ExxonMobil began producing in the Stabroek Block in December 2019 and currently produces from four projects that together exceed 900,000 barrels per day. The company has committed about US$60 billion to developments in Guyana, although not all committed funds have yet been spent. Routledge said about US$5 billion in historic costs remain to be recovered.
Under Guyana’s 2016 production‑sharing agreement, up to 75% of recoverable costs may be recouped from production revenues; the remaining 25% of revenues are split between the coventurers (ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC) and the Government of Guyana, with the government also receiving a 2% royalty on total revenues. While the government currently receives roughly 14.5% of revenues (12.5% profit share plus 2% royalty), that share is expected to increase once ExxonMobil and its partners have recovered their historic costs.
If cost recovery is completed sooner than anticipated, and if oil prices and production remain at elevated levels, Guyana could begin receiving a larger portion of project revenues before the end of 2026.
