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ExxonM’s third audit completed
Kaieteur News- The local consortium that was hired by the government of Guyana (GoG) to conduct the third audit of ExxonMobil’s US$19.6B expenses has completed the review.
This was revealed by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, in an invited comment on Tuesday. Minister Bharrat told this newspaper that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has received the audit report completed by Ramdihal & Haynes Inc; Eclisar Financial; and Vitality Accounting & Consultancy Inc. (VHE Consulting). “GRA is in receipt and doing their internal assessment,” he explained.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat
The local consultant was hired to review the company’s expenses incurred between the period 2021 to 2023. VHE Consulting also conducted the second audit of the Stabroek Block operator for the period 2018 to 2020, which is still to be finalised.
The third audit, which commenced in November 2024, was initially expected to be completed by March, but an extension was granted to the timeline by the GoG. It is important to note that the audit in question is the largest in the country’s history, yet auditors were granted a mere five months to conduct the review. When asked if the government is comfortable with the short timeline given to auditors to review a substantial US$19.6 billion in expenses which is significantly larger than the two previous audits, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Joslyn McKenzie, had responded, “As it relates to the duration, the duration is in keeping with the audit charter, and the GRA assured us that the work will be completed within that timeframe. All the bidders who submitted their bids also said the same thing, that the timeframe is adequate.”
Additionally, unlike what obtained during the first cost oil audit, the media was not invited to attend the signing of the contract, sparking concerns from stakeholders. Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, said at the time that the media was blanked on purpose from the event. In an interview with this newspaper, Patterson had said, “We noted that the contract signing was done without the presence of the media, departing from earlier such contract signing. We see this as an attempt by the government to dodge questions on the performance of the company, as well as the contents of their report.” The earlier audits include British firm IHS Markit, which reviewed expenses totalling US$1.7 billion for the period 1999 to 2017, and VHE Consulting, supported by SGS and Martindale Consultants, which audited US$7.3 billion for 2018 to 2020.
Meanwhile, even as the third audit has been completed by the consulting group, the second one is still to be finalised. The second audit, covering Exxon’s expenses for 2018 to 2020 and totalling US$7.3 billion, was conducted by the local consortium VHE Consulting, with international support from SGS and Martindale Consultants. That final report was submitted to Exxon in November 2024, and the company had 60 days to respond. Kaieteur News had reported that an analysis of the second audit report revealed missing details on key expenditures that were covered in the first oil audit done by IHS Markit. Currently, citizens can access VHE’s “Initial Audit Report for the Stabroek Block Cost Recovery Audit – 2018 to 2020” on the Ministry of Natural Resources website. That version was published on April 12, 2024 and is 135 pages long.
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Whatever aspects of the audit that were released clearly said nothing that clearly showed how much it actually cost to get 1 barrel of oil out of the ground. Does this mean if crude oil prices drop. Would it be unfeasible for them to continue pumping Guyana oil?