chevron australia tax and royalty payments surpass $20 billion

For the period 1 January to 31 December 2024, Chevron Australia’s company tax cash payments totalled more than A$5.1 billion which included income tax, royalties, excise, interest withholding tax, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax and other withholding taxes.

Company income tax liability for the same timeframe was A$2.9 billion.

The 2024 Tax Transparency Report follows the release of company tax data by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) earlier this month which showed Chevron Australia was the country’s fourth largest company income taxpayer for the second year in a row having paid A$3.5 billion for 2023.

Chevron Australia president Balaji Krishnamurthy said continued reliability and production achievements at the Gorgon and Wheatstone natural gas facilities in Western Australia, combined with market conditions, underpinned the substantial income tax payments.

“We have now paid more than A$20 billion in a variety of company taxes since 2009 in addition to investing more than A$80 billion with our joint venture partners in the development of Gorgon and Wheatstone,” Krishnamurthy said.

“Gorgon and Wheatstone continue to be crucial to Western Australia’s community and economy, producing approximately 45 percent of the state’s domestic gas supply.

“Our Australian business also supports regional energy security, with the capacity to produce a total of 24.5 million tonnes of LNG each year for delivery to customers across the Asia Pacific, equating to approximately 6.5 percent of global LNG supply and one third of Australia’s LNG exports.”

Krishnamurthy said the multibillion-dollar tax payments were tangible examples of how developing Australia’s gas resources benefitted communities nationwide.

“By paying our fair share of tax, we’re helping the government to fund services Australians rely on, such as healthcare and cost-of-living support, as well as enabling government investment in the infrastructure and innovations that can position the country for long-term success,” he said.

“For these benefits to continue to flow, ongoing development of Australia’s oil and gas resources is critical.

“Attracting this investment depends on a stable and predictable taxation framework which balances the significant business risk involved in developing major energy projects with the importance of delivering a fair return to Australians.”

Other payments in the 2024 year included A$95 million for a temporary levy on Australian offshore petroleum production to recover the Commonwealth’s costs of decommissioning the oil fields and associated infrastructure abandoned by the insolvent operator of the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields. Despite having no interest or involvement in the fields, Chevron has now paid more than A$276 million towards the cost of their decommissioning.

In May 2024, legislation to amend the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), which applies to offshore gas producers, was passed by the Australian Parliament.

Krishnamurthy said Chevron Australia’s first PRRT payments were made in August 2025 and would continue from this point forward. Details of the PRRT payments will be published next year.