ExxonMobil consolidates ‘petrostate’ despite environmental complaints in Guyana – April 8, 2025

...U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil dominates oil production in Guyana. In 2015, the company announced the discovery of one of the largest oil reserves in the world in the past decade. Since then, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana, its local subsidiary, has led the consortium.

An oil consortium is a partnership between companies to explore and produce oil, sharing costs, risks, and profits. There is usually a main operator, as is the case with Esso in Guyana, which operates the Stabroek oil block. This block spans 26,800 km² along Guyana’s coastal region and includes U.S.-based Hess Corporation and China’s CNOOC as partners. As ExxonMobil expands its presence in the country, it faces accusations from environmental activists and ongoing lawsuits.

According to complaints, the company has failed to comply with the terms established in its environmental licenses.

In November 2024, the InfoAmazonia team visited Georgetown and surrounding areas to speak with key voices criticizing the oil company. Our investigation also examined lawsuits and reports documenting ExxonMobil’s environmental violations in the country...

Our research shows that the Guyanese government has been loosening environmental regulations, signing contracts that benefit oil companies at the expense of the population, and supporting these companies in legal proceedings...

Most of the country’s oil is exported to the United States and European countries. Despite its massive reserves, Guyana suffers from electricity shortages. “We’re used to blackouts, but over the years they’ve become more frequent,” says Minerva Cort, a resident of Georgetown...

One of ExxonMobil’s practices that has been criticized by judges and environmentalists is the flaring of natural gas during oil extraction...

InfoAmazonia attempted to contact ExxonMobil and its Guyanese subsidiary, Esso, but received no response. We also sent inquiries to oil partners Hess and CNOOC, who had not commented by the time of publication. Attempts were also made to reach the Guyanese government, but no response was received either...

Coastal and Indigenous communities near Georgetown remain divided and wary about the rise of the oil industry in the country...

Fishermen report that oil extraction has brought numerous problems to their work...

...Indigenous leader Mario Hastings states that communities were lured with financial promises and were not properly consulted about the project...

Other factors, such as deforestation and land use changes, are destroying forests and generating emissions in Guyana...