First audit on Exxon’s spending in Guyana, expected by year end

Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali says the first audit report on ExxonMobil’s spending in the country will be completed before year end.

The contract to complete the audit was signed in May and it was expected the reports would be completed by September.

However, the completion of the audits has been delayed.

“The delay was because of some coordination issues with the auditors themselves, which is natural in these circumstances,” Ali explained.

In May, three local companies, formed a consortium, have been conducting a cost recovery audit of US$9 billion, representing three years of activities (2018 – 2020) by ExxonMobil’s subsidiary, Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd in the Stabroek Block, Liza Phase 1 project.

The US based ExxonMobil has made more than 30 discoveries on the block since 2015, and it has ramped up offshore development and production at a pace that far exceeds the industry average.

ExxonMobil’s first two sanctioned offshore Guyana projects, Liza Phase 1 and Liza Phase 2, are now producing above design capacity and achieved an average of nearly 360,000 barrels of oil per day in the third quarter.

A third project, Payara, is expected to start by the end of 2023, and a fourth project, Yellowtail, is expected to start in 2025. ExxonMobil is currently pursuing environmental authorization for a fifth project, Uaru. By the end of the decade,

ExxonMobil expects Guyana’s oil production capacity to be more than one million barrels a day.

Guyana’s Stabroek block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers).

ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45 percent interest in the block.

Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest, and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 percent interest.

CMC/