Exxon paid no tax on US$525M in Guyana earnings in 2025

Under Article 15.1 of Guyana's 2016 petroleum contract with ExxonMobil, the company is exempt from corporate income tax on its petroleum operations — meaning an estimated US$525 million of its 2025 earnings went untaxed at the standard 25% corporate rate, according to reporting by Kaieteur News.

Rather than collecting tax directly from ExxonMobil, Article 15.4 of the contract directs the Minister to pay an equivalent amount to the Guyana Revenue Authority — a cost-recovery mechanism that shields the company from direct tax liability.

The figure lands at an awkward moment. Guyana simultaneously borrowed approximately US$527 million from the U.S. EXIM Bank for its Wales development project — a near-identical sum that critics say illustrates the opportunity cost of the contractual arrangement.

Global oil prices, now hovering near US$100 per barrel following Iranian missile strikes on cargo vessels and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz, have accelerated revenues into Guyana's Natural Resource Fund, which has reached approximately US$3.82 billion. Oil earnings are projected to approach US$2.79 billion in 2026.

Separately, a tanker fraudulently flying Guyana's flag — the Majestic X, previously sanctioned as the PHONIX — was seized by U.S. forces in the Indian Ocean while allegedly transporting Iranian crude oil. Guyana's Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) confirmed the vessel has no legitimate registration in the country's closed shipping registry, noting that similar fraudulent flag cases have been detected across multiple jurisdictions since 2021.

• US$525 million of ExxonMobil's 2025 petroleum earnings exempted from Guyana's 25% corporate income tax under Article 15.1 of the 2016 contract • Article 15.4 routes equivalent tax payments through the Minister to the GRA rather than collecting directly from ExxonMobil • Guyana borrowed approximately US$527 million from the U.S. EXIM Bank for the Wales project — nearly identical to the untaxed sum • Guyana's Natural Resource Fund has reached approximately US$3.82 billion amid surging oil prices near US$100 per barrel • Oil revenues projected at approximately US$2.79 billion in 2026 • Seized tanker Majestic X (formerly PHONIX) was fraudulently flying Guyana's flag with no legitimate registration in the country's closed registry • MARAD has tracked fraudulent flag cases across multiple jurisdictions since 2021

The revelation that Guyana collected no corporate income tax on approximately US$525 million of ExxonMobil's 2025 earnings — at the same time as global oil prices surge toward US$100 per barrel due to Strait of Hormuz disruptions — sharpens longstanding questions about whether the 2016 contract serves Guyana's long-term national interest. 

Higher prices accelerate cost recovery for Exxon and its partners, potentially bringing forward profit-sharing timelines. 

But if the tax exemption structure persists, Guyana's government share of the windfall may remain constrained even as revenues to the Natural Resource Fund — reportedly approaching US$3.82 billion — grow.

"Under the 2016 petroleum contract, Guyana collected no corporate income tax on approximately US$525 million of ExxonMobil's 2025 petroleum earnings — equivalent to a 25% standard corporate tax rate applied to the company's reported earnings."

— Kaieteur News, as cited in Caribbean360 fact-check brief

Social Conversation: mixed

Social media posts about Guyana's tax waiver for Exxon reflect mixed sentiments, with concerns over corruption and corporate control alongside recognition of oil production achievements.

corporate control of oilcorruption allegationsoil production success

Voices on X

"@BruceDu78605685 @SullyCNBC Yes, from US soil but Chevron, Conoco, and Exxon have a lot of control of Venezuela and Guyana oil"

@mergerguy · USA AZ · 3d ago · View on X

"@CIJ_ICJ @UNWebTV 2. and null Paris Award, riddled with flaws. Behind the judges of this corrupt court are the large transnational corporations, led by Exxon, that do business with the equally corrupt government of Guyana and have already invested large sums of money to bribe jud"

@ROBERTOANARVAEZ · SAN FELIPE, VENEZUELA · 4d ago · View on X

"@KidTexaco @SullyCNBC thank god oil was at $95+ for the duration of that chart so that exxon would go under the guyana sea to get it . . ."

@ronnypasadena · NOW · 4d ago · View on X

"Exxon Mobil (XOM) is producing 4.7 million barrels per day. That's a record.

Permian Basin: 1.6M bpd. Guyana: 700k+ bpd. Golden Pass LNG Train 1: first cargoes Q1 2026.

And the stock trades at 22.49x forward earnings — with 43 consecutive years of dividend growth.

Here's what "

@OptionsPlay · Basking Ridge, NJ · 6d ago · 2 engagements · View on X

Based on 4 posts from X · Apr 28, 2026

Contractual obligation, not a 'waiver': The tax exemption is not a discretionary waiver by the current administration but a binding term negotiated in the 2016 petroleum agreement. Article 15.1 exempts ExxonMobil from income tax on operations, while Article 15.4 routes equivalent payments through the Minister to the GRA — a structure the government inherited rather than chose.

Citizens are losing out on a historic windfall: Critics argue that with oil prices surging toward US$100 per barrel amid Strait of Hormuz chaos, the contractual tax exemption is costing Guyana hundreds of millions at precisely the moment revenues should be maximised. 

The near-identical figures of US$525 million in uncollected taxes and a US$527 million EXIM Bank loan underscore the opportunity cost for ordinary Guyanese.

Guyana's maritime integrity is under assault from external fraud networks: MARAD has firmly distanced Guyana from the seized Iranian oil tanker Majestic X, stressing the vessel fraudulently flew the national flag. 

The agency warns that fraud networks targeting shipping registries — including Guyana's, Panama's, and others — have been active since 2021, threatening the country's international maritime standing.

"This ship is not registered in Guyana; therefore, the registration is false and fraudulent. While the name of the vessel has changed, the IMO number remains recorded in the international database as PHONIX."

— Guyana Maritime Administration Department, National maritime regulatory authority, via Demerara Waves Online News