Govt. provided additional info requested by Exxon –review ongoing–PS
Jan 21, 2025
Kaieteur News-  The Government of Guyana has supplied additional information requested by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) regarding the finalised audit report of the company’s expenses.
The audit, covering Exxon’s US$7.3 billion Stabroek Block operations for 2018-2020, was conducted by local consortium VHE Consulting, comprising Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc., with international support from SGS and Martindale Consultants. The contract for this audit was valued at US$751,000 (GY$156 million).
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Joslyn McKenzie (info requested by Exxon)
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Joslyn McKenzie, recently noted, “In relation to the second audit, the report has been completed and is being presented to Exxon. That’s the 2018 to 2020 audit and that work has been undertaken by VHE consortium, in association with an international consultants.”
In mid-November 2024, the report was sent to Exxon, which had 60 days to respond. McKenzie explained, “That report has been tabled to Exxon, they responded with some additional information, the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Ministry has provided that to them, and the review process is currently ongoing.”
He further clarified that the GRA leads the audits for Exxon’s Stabroek Block expenses, with support from the Ministry of Natural Resources. Notably, no information was revealed on when the audit would be made public.
Kaieteur News had reported that an analysis of the second audit report revealed missing details on key expenditures that were covered in the first oil audit done, by British firm IHS Markit, of the company’s 1999-2017 expenses. IHS had recommended that the Government of Guyana (GoG) disallow US$214 million in costs being claimed by Exxon for the misuse of Guyana’s oil profits and failure to justify expenses. The first report, commissioned by the Coalition government, provided comprehensive data on significant costs, such as those for supply vessels, drill rigs, SURF, helicopter services, and waste management, while these details are notably absent from the audit report by the local consortium.
Currently, citizens can access VHE’s “Initial Audit Report for the Stabroek Block Cost Recovery Audit – 2018 to 2020” on the Ministry of Natural Resources website. That version was published on April 12, 2024 and is 135 pages long.
(Govt. provided additional info requested by Exxon –review ongoing–PS)
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