GRA struggling to staff oil oversight units as Exxon expands

Nov 18, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Guyana’s premier tax watchdog, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), remains dangerously understaffed in the very departments tasked with policing the country’s booming oil and gas sector. Nearly half the critical posts needed to safeguard billions in petroleum revenues are still vacant a human resource crisis first flagged in 2023 and now worsening as production ramps up.

According to the 2024 Auditor General’s Report, the Petroleum Revenue Department (PRD), the GRA’s frontline unit for oil taxation has an approved complement of 67 officers, but only 39 were on the job by September 2025. The PRD, created in 2020, carries some of the most sensitive responsibilities in the nation: petroleum tax audits, VAT refund verification, cost recovery assessments, appeals, debt management, and risk analysis for the oil industry. Yet, year after year, it continues to operate with major gaps in its ranks.

While the agency, under the stewardship of Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia has employed various strategies to train and attract skilled personnel to perform specific duties related to the oil sector, a huge human resource gap, initially flagged in 2023, continues to plague the entity.

Since the establishment of the department, GRA has conducted extensive trainings with individuals to carry out the functions stated above. Last year for instance multiple training sessions were held with globally recognised consultants and agencies such as (i) Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), (ii) Bayphase Limited, (iii) 3t EnerMech (ODITC), (iv) S&P Global, (v) BB Energy, (vi) IMF Extractive Industries (EI) Revenue Administration – Peripatetic Assistance and, (vii) Ministry of Natural Resources to build capacity to administer domestic taxes within the Oil and Gas Sector, including training in principles of cost recovery, benchmarking and offshore operations.

Despite the efforts of the GRA, crucial positions remain vacant to keep watch on oil and gas companies operating in Guyana. For instance, 25 tax audit officers are required at the agency while only 10 are currently enrolled. Likewise, 19 cost recovery audit officers are required but only 10 were on the job as at March 30, 2025.

According to the AG Report, the Head of the Authority indicated that the GRA continues internal and external recruitment for the PRD, but the technical nature of the roles has made it difficult to find qualified candidates. “Many applicants have not met the required standards in the exam phase. To improve this, the GRA is developing a revised assessment for all candidates to better identify suitable hires,” according to the document.

In an invited comment, Mr. Statia told Kaieteur News that the Authority has engaged the University of Guyana (UG) on the need for courses leading to a degree, a masters and a bachelors in petroleum accounting and taxation. He was pleased to report that come 2026, these programmes will commence and will be available to all interested persons, whether or not they seek employment with the GRA.

Meanwhile, he highlighted that GRA has also been engaged in internal training to help fill vacancies in the department, however many fail to reach the required pass mark.

“Many who are internally trained do not meet the 75% pass mark required to be attached to the department. That’s always a problem. Even for customs officers and brokers. Even though we now give an open book exam, nearly 90% don’t make over 70%, and forty% do not get over 50%,” the Commissioner General explained.

Additionally, Statia noted that while GRA is open to hiring foreigners to fill the vacancies at the agency, they are often expectant of higher wages and salaries.

Customs Petroleum Unit

In addition to the Petroleum Revenue Department, GRA also established a separate Customs Petroleum Unit (CPU) in June 2021. The functions of this key unit include monitoring and verifying customs procedures relative to the Oil and Gas Sector, inclusive of: entry processing, cargo clearance, quality assurance, shadowing the valuation process of export oil, valuation of goods imported by oil companies, Contractors and Sub-Contractors, exemptions, tariff classification, data analysis, research, inventory monitoring, and report and trade facilitation.

This unit too is currently lacking with an approved staff complement of 33 while the actual number of positions filled was 23.

In the AG report, the Head of the Authority indicated that the staff complement at March 30, 2025 reflects the positions that are critical for the monitoring of oil and gas activities; however, the arrival of the fourth Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel will add more strain to the already struggling department.

 

Nonetheless, the Commissioner General noted that efforts will continue to fill the additional positions to streamline monitoring and inventory control. He said, “Recruitment for the CPU remains ongoing, but finding qualified candidates is challenging due to the technical nature of the roles. The Authority is committed to identifying and onboarding suitable staff to meet operational needs.”

 

In 2024, 67 employees ceased working with the GRA. According to the AG report 26 or 39% resigned while 10 or 15% were dismissed due to allegations of corruption, gross misconduct, poor performance, attendance and punctuality, and breach of procedures.

GRA stated, “Exit interviews indicated that most resignations were due to personal reasons, migration, or more competitive pay – particularly in the oil and gas sector.”

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• GRA, Oil and Gas, salary, staff, Statia

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