Last year, bp Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) paid the government over TT$2.3b in taxes. This according to the recently released report on payments to governments for the year ending December 31st 2019. bpTT is the largest natural gas producer in Trinidad and Tobago.
In 2019, the payments made to the Trinidad and Tobago government fell by approximately 5% from 2018 when the company paid TT$2.4b (US360.5m) in taxes to the government.
According to the report, bpTT paid US$53.5m to the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) and also US$290m to the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, which totalled US$343.5m (or TT$2.3b).
The majority of the payments (US$342.1m) were made through taxes in owned and operated bpTT blocks. US$1.5m was paid as fees relating to Block5b.
The latest report outlined the payments made to the governments of 23 countries in 2019. In total, almost US$21b was paid to these 23 countries. The report indicated that bp Global paid the most amount of taxes to the government of Azerbaijan — US$10b.
The Trinidad and Tobago government received the 9th highest payment from bp Global in 2019.
The company stated that it also makes a broader socio-economic contribution to countries in which they operate in addition to the payments that are required to be reported.
The report states that bp Global also makes payments to governments in connection with parts of the business other than the upstream, for example, in relation to the transporting, trading, manufacturing and marketing of oil and gas.
In addition to government payments, bp Global contributes to the economies of the countries in which they operate by providing jobs for employees and contractors, purchasing materials from local suppliers, and undertaking social investment activities.
The report indicates that bp Global’s position on revenue transparency supports the concept of transparency in revenue flows from oil and gas activities in resource-rich countries. It helps citizens of affected countries access the information they need to hold governments accountable for the way they use funds received through taxes and other agreements.
Last month, we reported that Shell released its Report on Payments to Governments 2019. According to that report, Shell paid the government of Trinidad and Tobago TT$1.2b (US$189m) in total.
Together, the two largest natural gas producers in Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT and Shell Trinidad and Tobago) paid the government TT$3.5b in 2019.
