More money was paid last year by U.S. oil and gas companies to foreign governments than they paid in the U.S.—eight times more, according to filings now required with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The total was more than $42 billion paid by Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp, and ConocoPhillips to foreign governments. The filings were the first ever made under the new SEC requirement.
According to Reuters, ConocoPhillips made $1.3 billion in U.S.-based payments and $5.2 billion to foreign governments. Its total in payments was $6.5 billion.
Exxon’s global payments totaled $25 billion and nearly 90% went to foreign governments in 2023. Nearly a quarter of the Texas-based oil company’s exploration and production earnings came from the U.S. The SEC filings indicated Exxon paid $7.4 billion to the United Arab Emirates, $4.6 billion to Indonesia and $3.2 billion to Malaysia.
Exxon’s payments in the U.S. were $2.3 billion including $1.2 billion to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Chevron’s payments to foreign governments was $14.6 billion in 2023 including $4 billion to Australia. The company’s U.S. payments totaled $2 billion.
