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Shell’s financial records for 50 % Stabroek Block interest nowhere to be found – Chris Ram
Kaieteur News – Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram recently discovered that Shell, the multinational company that was ExxonMobil’s first partner in the oil-rich Stabroek Block, has no financial records filed locally for the time it served in the offshore concession.
Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram
Ram made the startling revelation via his column, “Every Man, Woman and Child in Guyana Must Become Oil-Minded – Part 109” which was published last week by Stabroek News.
In his column, Ram said Shell registered a subsidiary in 2009, the same year in which it acquired a 25% stake in the Stabroek Block from Exxon which was formerly known as Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL). In 2011, Ram said Shell acquired a further 25%, making it an equal partner with Exxon in the Block.
“In violation of accounting requirements and legal principles the Guyana Esso branch never accounted for the moneys it received from Shell, for its first 25% or the subsequent 25%,” Ram said, adding that the situation gets even messier.
Ram said, “Shell’s investment in the Stabroek Block extended from 2009 – the year in which it registered in Guyana – to 2014, when it ended its participation in the Block. An application for cancellation of its registration was filed in November 2018. Yet, there is not a single annual report or financial statements for the years 2009 – 2018 in the records of the Commercial Registry as the law requires.”
The Chartered Accountant said it is a stretch to believe that the company would not have known of its filing obligations under Guyana’s laws. Ram said the question that arises is whether this was a deliberate decision on the part of Shell to not file any records for its time in Guyana, and why the Commercial Registry never picked up this grave omission over a period of several years.
He said too that the question also must be asked whether Shell ever prepared financial statements or filed tax returns as required under tax laws of Guyana. While the Guyanese public would never know the motive behind the decision not to comply, Ram said such non-disclosure has facilitated a more serious issue—Shell did not have to account for the payments it made to Exxon for its 50% stake in the Stabroek Block.
Ram said the irony of it all, is that an affiliate of the same Shell branch was contracted in 2019 to sell Guyana’s first three oil lifts. The Chartered Accountant alluded that this is a matter which warrants attention from the relevant authorities.
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