Hess Guyana Exploration Limited, which holds a 30 percent stake in the Stabroek Block, has fully recovered all capital contributions made by its head office over the life of its operations in Guyana, according to an analysis of the company’s 2025 financial returns published by chartered accountant and attorney Christopher Ram.
Writing in his Sunday column in Kaieteur News, Ram highlighted that Hess received approximately GY$717.7 billion in head office contributions over the years to finance exploration, development, and operational activities in Guyana, equivalent to approximately US$3.6 billion at an average exchange rate of $200. By December 31, 2025, that balance had fallen to nil, meaning the company had completely recovered every dollar of its invested capital directly from earnings generated in Guyana, with no outstanding loans or external financing remaining.
Ram further noted that Hess recorded net income in 2025 alone of GY$605.45 billion, equivalent to approximately US$3 billion, a figure that exceeded Guyana’s own oil earnings during the same period, which reached US$2.5 billion. The company’s accumulated surplus stood at GY$1.741 trillion at the close of 2025, up from GY$1.417 trillion in 2024.
To contextualise the scale of those figures, Ram pointed out that Guyana’s National Budget for 2026 is set at $1.558 trillion, meaning the accumulated profits of a single foreign oil company operating in Guyana now exceed the total amount the government proposes to spend on the entire country in a year. He added that Hess’s accumulated revenues are approximately four times the Guyana Revenue Authority’s projected tax collections for 2026.
Ram stated that while Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh recently described the 2026 budget as the largest ever presented, the retained earnings of Hess alone dwarf that figure, and called the disparity a reality that should make every Guyanese seethe with anger. He described President Irfaan Ali’s defence of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement as political servitude disguised as policy, arguing that no leader genuinely committed to his people could justify a contract so lopsided in favour of the oil companies.
Under the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement, the Stabroek co-venturers are permitted to deduct 75 percent of production to cover expenses, with the remaining 25 percent split between the companies and Guyana. The country currently receives 12.5 percent of profits plus a 2 percent royalty paid quarterly.
Guyana’s share is expected to increase significantly once the cost bank is cleared. In March, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge disclosed that approximately US$5 billion remained in the cost bank. Once recovered, Guyana’s entitlement rises to 50 percent of revenues generated in the block after operating expenses are met. ExxonMobil holds 45 percent in the Stabroek Block, Hess holds 30 percent, and CNOOC holds the remaining 25 percent. Four Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels are currently producing oil in the block.
SOURCE: Kaieteur News, “Hess recovers full investment in Guyana, 2025 financials,” May 19, 2026
