As questions mount on the government’s failure to have US$9b in Exxon-Mobil’s expenses audited, it has been disclosed that the Ministry of Natural Resources had been responsible for the evaluating of the financials of companies that had bid for the contract but it apparently abandoned the process without advising the procurement board.
The expiration of the deadline for the examination of the expenses means that the country has not been able to determine if the US$9b expenditure by ExxonMobil and partners was warranted. If the expenses were overstated it would have caused a reduction in Guyana’s profit oil take.
For the third day running Stabroek News yesterday sought a response from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to no avail. Sources told this newspaper that the ministry has not said anything to the National Pro-curement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) on tenders that were submitted for the auditing of the US9b in expenses. The tenders were opened in April of this year.