Last Monday, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) issued a media release in which it stated that it has offered no objection to the IHS Markit report that identified US$214.4 million in pre-contract recoverable costs that the Government has reasonable grounds for disputing. This was done by way of a letter to the Minister of Natural Resource issued last month. A week earlier, the Vice President indicated that the disputed costs have since been reduced to US$11 million after ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries presented additional documentation in support of the related expenditure.
These two positions, which appear to conflict with each other, prompting us to revisit the auditors’ report on the matter and the Government’s reaction to date.