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Govt. yet to close 1999 to 2020 audit of ExxonM’s expenses
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
– but says “at least we are doing them”
Kaieteur News – Come next month, the Government of Guyana (GoG) will award a contract for the third audit of ExxonMobil’s multibillion-dollar expenses, incurred between 2021 and 2023, however, two previous reviews of the company are yet to be closed.
For the Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, completing the audits is not as important as starting the review process. The minister was asked at his mid-year press conference by Kaieteur News to say why there was a delay in the completion of the audits, especially when the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) sets a strict timeline for the completion of such reviews.
Bharrat said that the Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo previously addressed this concern, and he could not provide a different response. He nonetheless conceded that the audits have been delayed but noted “the point is that we are doing the audits.” The minister in an attempt to deflect responsibility for the incomplete audits pointed out that the PPP government was pushing for the audits to be completed. To qualify his position, Bharrat said, “Many other audits were delayed, no other audit was done from 2016 to 2020, not a single one. Whether it’s in the CGX, Demerara-Berbice, Kanuku or whichever (oil) block. We started to push these audits and we are moving now to the third audit so the commitment is there by the government and by the operator to ensure that we get this audit done and I think that is important and to be done properly too.”
Audits are critical to ensuring that the country was not cheated by the oil companies through the procurement of goods and services from the company’s contractors. This process is particularly important since the oil contract with Exxon provides for the operator to deduct 75% of the monthly revenues generated to clear its expenses. The remaining 25% is then shared with Guyana as profits. Without finalizing the audits Guyana would not be able to reclaim the illegal costs claimed by the oil company.
To date, two audits of the company’s expenses have been conducted but are yet to be closed. The first audit was done by a British firm, IHS Markit for the period 1999 to 2017. That audit examined expenses totalling US$1.7B. Auditors had recommended US$214M be contested by the state and while the government has accepted this recommendation, there has been no move to the next step to reclaim the cost. The process is still stalled with discussions ongoing between the GoG and Exxon.
Meanwhile, the second audit was conducted by a local group, Ramdihal & Haynes Inc., Eclisar Financial, and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. That audit examined expenses totalling US$7.3B covering the period 2018 to 2020.
Based on the agreement, Guyana can conduct an audit within two years from the end of each calendar year. At the conclusion of the process, the Contractor must be furnished with the report and its findings within 60 days to provide a response. The response from Exxon will detail its objection or acceptance of the audit claim, along with explanations thereof. The contract also allows the subject Minister to conduct further investigations within 60 days of receiving the Contractor’s response. It must be noted that the PSA makes it clear at Section 1.5 (b) that: “…If within sixty (60) days of the Minister’s further investigation, the Parties are unable to agree to the disposition of the Minister’s audit claim, the claim shall be submitted to the sole expert in accordance with Article 26 of the Agreement.” Article 26 of the contract sets out the conditions as it relates to arbitration.
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