The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), overturning a 2023 High Court decision on financial assurance requirements tied to ExxonMobil’s offshore environmental permit.

In the original ruling, Justice Sandil Kissoon found that ExxonMobil had breached its permit by failing to provide adequate financial assurance for potential environmental damage. He also held that the EPA had failed in its statutory duties by accepting what he considered insufficient coverage.

The judge concluded that ExxonMobil’s liability for environmental harm was unlimited and that the financial guarantee required under the permit should therefore also be uncapped. He ruled that the company was in breach for proposing a US$2 billion guarantee instead, and ordered the EPA to issue an enforcement notice. The ruling further stated that ExxonMobil’s permit could be suspended if an unlimited guarantee was not provided within 30 days.