Guyana’s Court of Appeal on Thursday overturned a 2023 High Court ruling that had required ExxonMobil Guyana unit to provide an unlimited financial guarantee to cover potential environmental damages from its offshore oil operations.
The appellate court ruled in favour of ExxonMobil Guyana Ltd and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reversing a decision by Justice Sandil Kissoon, who had found that Exxon and the EPA breached provisions tied to financial assurance requirements under the company’s environmental permit for offshore petroleum operations.
Justice Kissoon had ruled that Exxon’s liability for environmental damage was “unlimited and uncapped” and therefore the financial assurance required under the permit also had to be unlimited. He found that Exxon acted improperly by seeking to provide a US$2 billion guarantee instead, and that the EPA failed in its statutory duties by accepting it.
The High Court had ordered the EPA to issue an enforcement notice against Exxon if it failed to lodge an unlimited guarantee within 30 days, warning that the company’s permit could be suspended if the agency did not act.
Exxon and the EPA appealed the ruling, and the Court of Appeal had stayed Justice Kissoon’s orders pending the outcome of the case. Arguments were heard in February 2026.
In its unanimous ruling on Thursday, the Court of Appeal held that unlimited liability and financial assurance were separate legal concepts and that the lower court erred by conflating them. The appellate judges found that while Exxon remained liable for environmental damage caused by its operations, the permit required a guarantee “in a definite amount,” rather than an unlimited one.
The court also ruled that the EPA had discretion under the Environmental Protection Act and the permit to determine the value of the guarantee and that Justice Kissoon improperly substituted his own judgment for that of the regulator.
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The appellate court further held that there was no evidence before the High Court to support findings that the insurance policy lodged by Exxon was inconsistent with international petroleum industry practice. It set aside all of Justice Kissoon’s 2023 orders.
The case was brought by Frederick Collins and Godfrey Whyte. Exxon was represented by Andrew Pollard, Edward Luckhoo and Eleanor Luckhoo, while the EPA was represented by Sanjeev Datadin and Mohanie Anganoo.
The case has drawn significant public attention in Guyana, where Exxon leads a consortium producing more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day from the prolific Stabroek Block. Critics of Exxon have long argued that Guyana could face severe financial exposure in the event of a major offshore oil spill. Exxon has maintained that it complies with the country’s environmental requirements and international industry standards.
