Mid-2024, the Guyana government plans to contract an auditor to verify expenses claimed by the Stabroek block consortium for the period 2021-2023.
This will add to two ongoing audit processes for expenses for the periods 1999-2017 and 2018-2020.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said the government is hoping to wrap up all three by yearend.
The first audit process has been going on for a few years – the audit of about US$1.6 billion in expenses is complete but post-audit talks persist. There was a disagreement between the government’s consultants and ExxonMobil over the validation of a minority of the expenses.
The second audit of over US$7 billion for the 2018-2020 period is also complete, but a final consensus on the validity of the costs has yet to be signed off.
Jagdeo said last year that they are taking a while to conclude because of the iterative nature of document submission and review.
Of the third audit, he said last Thursday that “If they have four to six months for conclusion of the audit… we are going for end of the year…”
He said it is hoped that, by then, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), which is overseeing the process, will have a “strong position” on how to move forward with the other two audits. Arbitration is an option for areas where there may be a lack of consensus.
Wrapping up these audits would finalize 24 years of Stabroek block expenses incurred by ExxonMobil, Hess and CNOOC. Exxon said the consortium has expended US$29 billion so far and has already recouped US$19 billion from oil production.
Exxon has made dozens of discoveries of oil and gas, and has lined up six oil projects, with a goal of 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) of oil production by 2027.
