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No excuse for hiding report of Exxon’s US$19.6B audit – Norton
…demands release
(Kaieteur News) – Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Aubrey Norton has called on the government of Guyana (GoG) to stop hiding the report of ExxonMobil’s largest audit to date which analyzed over US$19.6B in expenditure that Guyana must pay.
The former Opposition Leader was speaking at a party press conference when he stated, “I believe that the audit report should be made public. From the inception, we were insisting…they inherited the first audit report and so they were compelled to do it, but I have seen no signs that the government is interested in the auditing, the serious auditing of ExxonMobil or anyone.”
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
He argued that the PNC/R has been advocating for Guyanese to be trained to be able to conduct the technical reviews necessary of the company’s spending, however he has seen no action from government in that regard.
Norton added that there is no justification for the extended delay in publishing the audit report handed over to government since May this year. Furthermore, he reminded that the party has been calling for the release of the document from the beginning.
Today now marks 214 days or seven months after it was reported that the auditors completed the review of the company’s expenses.
Notably, the review of the company’s financial activities is crucial in ensuring that Guyana received its rightful share of profits from the Stabroek Block. In accordance with the terms of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), ExxonMobil and its co-venturers invest in developing the resources discovered in the block. Guyana has taken a back-seat approach where spending by the Stabroek block partners is concerned. The government has agreed to review business transactions after the company spends billions of US-dollars which must be paid back by Guyana with its oil. This process is known as cost recovery.
Each month, Exxon is allowed to take 75% of the oil produced in the Stabroek Block for its expenses. Increased oil production also equates to higher cost recovery for the company. The remaining portion of revenue is then split with Guyana as profit. This arrangement has often been criticized with stakeholders demanding not only a reduction in the cost recovery percentage, but a seat at the table where large contracts especially are negotiated. In this manner, Guyana can ensure it gets the best value for its money, prior to the signing of an agreement, as compared with verifying costs after a contract is awarded.
The third audit was conducted by VHE consulting, a local consortium comprising Ramdihal & Haynes Inc; Eclisar Financial; and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. The arrangement commenced in secret with the contract signing taking place in the absence of media personnel, a notable deviation from the previous process.
Prior to the US$19.6B audit of expenses between 2021 and 2023, the same company was contracted to conduct the second audit through a more transparent process where media personnel were not only invited to attend the signing but scrutinize the arrangement.
On May 15, 2025, the minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat revealed that the audit was completed and the report handed over to government for review. Five months later, in October, Bharrat informed this newspaper that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was still conducting a technical review of the report and would make the document public after the process was completed. Recently, Bharrat was asked again about the report and directed all questions to the tax agency.
Notably, the GRA has not responded to any queries from this newspaper relating to the audit.
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The Sitting government has no right to to delay the Audit Report, to parliament and the public It’s unacceptable base on the audit report it can be determined what monies were collect an spent and how the budget of the nation was manage. Failing to do so parliament the opposition can petition for a forensic AUDIT Report by an outside auditor eg. KPMG or Deloitte or any other reputable AUDIT firm where all details financial transactions will be ain a disclosure of the Audit Report