Exxon spends US$millions of Guyana’s profits to promote self at local business events

Oct 31, 2023 ExxonMobil, News, Oil & Gas

Kaieteur News – The latest audit report on ExxonMobil’s expenses totalling over US$7 billion has flagged a number of bills which are not in connection with petroleum operations.

According to the report compiled by Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc., with backing from Martindale Consultants, ExxonMobil spent US$4.9M on promoting itself at the events hosted by local business groups as well as for travel and rent expenses for its expatriates which were not in keeping with the conditions outlined in the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

Auditors said the PSA states that all costs, expenses and expenditures can only be recovered provided that they are relating to the petroleum operations. The team of experts said, “…a cost must be carried out for, or in connection with, production operations for the cost to be recoverable.”

Kaieteur News understands that Exxon acknowledged that the costs are not recoverable because it reversed more than US$2M charged in another case for sponsorships, social media management, and other similar costs. On such a premise, the auditors argued that Exxon must do the same and return the flagged sum to the Stabroek Block account.

It should be noted that this audit report prepared by Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc is yet to be released to the public. Another critical point of note is that this audit did not entail a review of every bill related to the 2018 to 2020 period as it was not a forensic audit. In fact, leader of the local consortium involved in the audit, Floyd Haynes, confirmed this with Kaieteur News in a previous interview.

He had further explained that the audit would not examine every single cost incurred by Exxon. He said no audit is ever done that way. Haynes said auditors look at a sample of the costs incurred. He had said that sample is based on a number of things.

Kaieteur News had previously reported that the audit contract that was awarded to Haynes and his team back in 2022 for US$751,000 had a strict four-month deadline for completion. Notably, the US$7.3B costs which the auditors examined pertain to the investments for the Liza Phase One and Liza Phase Two Projects which are currently producing approximately 400,000 barrels of oil per day.

business, Eclisar Financial, ExxonMobil’s, promote, Ramdihal & Haynes Inc.

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Exxon spends US$millions of Guyana’s profits to promote self at local business events

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