Chevron Corp., a leading oil company, has disclosed that it paid $6.25 billion in taxes and shared oil production to Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea in 2023, a figure that is three times greater than its payments to the US government.

This information was made public for the first time in a filing under Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was finalized in 2020 and had a deadline for publication this week.

Australia, where Chevron has significant liquefied natural gas operations, received the largest share of taxes, amounting to $3.98 billion. In contrast, Chevron's tax and royalty obligations in the US totaled $1.99 billion, despite the company extracting more oil and gas domestically than in any other region.

For years, advocates for tax transparency have urged US oil companies to disclose their payments to governments in host countries, emphasizing that such transparency is crucial for preventing corruption. While European and Australian commodity producers have been reporting their payments for several years, their US counterparts have lobbied against similar regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Civil society is truly enthusiastic about this disclosure after 15 years of persistent advocacy against the US oil and gas industry's resistance,” stated Aubrey Menard, senior policy advisor for natural resource justice at Oxfam America. She added that these disclosures will help assess whether the compensation received for natural resources is equitable or if it contributes to detrimental outcomes.

In the US, private individuals can own the minerals beneath their land, which typically results in lower royalty payments compared to countries where the government owns these resources.

“Chevron adheres to all legal and contractual obligations in the regions where it operates,” said company spokesman Bill Turenne in an email. “Chevron endorses well-structured financial disclosure requirements and will continue to collaborate with relevant government entities to promote transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.”