US$4.5B left to recover as Stabroek cost bank nears full payout

ExxonMobil Guyana says the recovery of billions of US dollars in development costs for the Stabroek Block could be completed sooner than anticipated, a development expected to increase Guyana’s share of revenues from offshore oil production.

Speaking during a recent press briefing, the company’s Vice President and Business Services Manager, John Colling, said more than US$55 billion had been accumulated in the Stabroek Block cost bank by the end of 2025.

Of that amount, approximately US$51 billion had already been recovered, leaving about US$4.5 billion outstanding.
Colling noted that stronger oil prices could accelerate the pace of cost recovery.

“As we mentioned earlier in the year, with the higher oil price, cost bank de-saturation, so recovery of those upfront costs could occur sooner than originally anticipated, and that very well likely could be this year, sometime in the second half,” he said.

Under Guyana’s Production Sharing Agreement, up to 75 per cent of revenues can be used for cost recovery, with the remaining profit oil shared between the Government of Guyana and the Stabroek Block co-venturers.

As outstanding development costs decline, a larger share of revenues becomes available for profit oil distribution.
Colling explained that while 75 per cent of revenues are currently allocated to cost recovery, Guyana’s share of revenues is expected to increase as more costs are recovered and additional projects come on stream.

“And certainly, as those costs are recovered, the pool of revenue available to the government will increase,” he stated.
ExxonMobil also pointed to continued growth in production, noting that output exceeded 900,000 barrels of oil a day by the end of 2025.

The company said increasing production and the eventual recovery of development costs will further boost government revenues in the years ahead.