Former Guyana Ambassador to South Africa and Professor Dr. C. Kenrick Hunte, along with Mr. Joseph Persaud and Mr. Darsh Khusial, argue that Guyana may have forfeited billions of United States dollars in oil revenue because it continues to allow broad cost recovery without ring fencing, even after the original investment costs of major projects have effectively been repaid.

In a detailed analysis titled Ending the 75 Percent Cost Recovery: Examining the Investment Cost for the First Four Investment Projects, Liza 1, Liza 2, Payara and Yellowtail, the three authors, writing on behalf of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN), contend that Guyana could have earned approximately US$4.7 billion more between 2020 and 2025 had ring fencing been applied.

The paper examines the operation of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), under which contractors may recover eligible petroleum costs from up to 75 percent of annual oil revenues before the remaining “profit oil” is divided equally between Guyana and the contractor.