A lone Guyanese registered auditing firm was among the list of several international companies that submitted proposals to conduct consultancy services for cost recovery audit and validation of Guyana’s profit oil share for the period January 2018 to December 2020. Guyana based Eclisar Financial & Professional Services, established in 2012, provides accounting services and financial advice to Guyanese businesses.
The bids were opened on Tuesday at the Ministry of Finance’s National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
Meanwhile, United Kingdom (UK) based international oil and gas consultancy firm Bayphase was the first bidder on the list. Bayphase, which was established in 1986 is a recognised leader in the assessment of all costs associated with oil and gas projects.
The company is no stranger to Guyana’s oil and gas industry; back in 2019, it was awarded a contract for consultancy services to support oil and gas project development evaluation for the Payara Field offshore Guyana. Rosa, Correia & Associados (RCA) Inc. in partnership with Swale House Partners; Gaffney Cline and Associates and Calender Law Firm were the other firms which expressed their interest in working for Guyana. Rosa, Correia and Associados Inc., which is a Portugal based company, established in 1980, provides auditing and consulting services. It is registered with the Association of Chartered Accountants, which is a part of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
Meanwhile, Swale House – RCA’s partner in the bid – is a U.S. company that provides natural resource risk management services. As for Gaffney Cline and Associates, it is said to be based in the U.K., and with offices in London, Houston, Singapore, Buenos Aires, Sydney and Moscow.
The Ministry of Natural Resources had advertised for proposals back in April. The published notice outlined that the objective of the project is to conduct an audit of the recoverable contract costs as determined by the Petroleum Agreement, taking into consideration accounting good practices, international accounting standards, as well as auditing procedures and standards. Based on the Terms of Reference seen by OilNOW, the assignment will include the validation of the Government’s share of profit oil for the period under review; while providing on-the-job training to the staff of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) [and other agencies as directed by the Government of Guyana] on the audit process.
The Consultancy is part of the Guyana Petroleum Resources Governance and Management Project (GPRGMP) which is being financed in the amount of US$20 million equivalent from the World Bank. The Ministry of Natural Resources said the government intends to apply part of the proceeds to pay for consulting services.
