Exxon refutes APNU’s claims of being informed about “agreement” to lower US$214.4M cost oil queries

THE Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has accused the opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), of spreading false narratives about the audits of ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) oil costs.

This occurs subsequent to the EMGL President, Alistair Routledge, vehemently refuting accusations by the Opposition of a mutually agreed upon reduction in contested cost oil claims from US$214.4 million to US$3 million.

During a press conference at the company’s Kingston, Georgetown headquarters, on Tuesday, Routledge explained that, in keeping with the company’s “open door” policy, he met with the opposition last month and informed them that no formal agreement was made between the government and Exxon to reduce the oil claim.

“We did not have any formal agreement from the ministry. And indeed, as the ministry, the Minister or the Vice President, made it clear that there is the expectation that the GRA [Guyana Revenue Authority] is the ultimate authority. So, to be clear, I did describe the process to the Opposition, but I did not say we had reached final agreement that was authorised by the GRA or the Ministry,” Routledge said.

Nandlall, during his programme ‘Issues in the News, said that this is backed by what the government has been saying, which was that only GRA is the authoritative body overseeing the audit.

“I believe that question has been answered… Exxon, has come out and has stated for the public record, that the government is correct. I hope that this statement by Mr. Routledge would bring clarity to this matter. And once again, I believe that the opposition has been proven to be spreading false narratives but that is nothing new.”

“The opposition is regularly found to be peddling inaccuracies and they simply have no shame. They make these outlandish accusations, they make these outrageous allegations, they produce no evidence in support. And when they are proven to be inaccurate, they just move on to something else as if nothing happened,” Nandlall said.

The GRA is designated as the sole agency authorised to release and assess the audit findings pertaining to the country’s interests.

In auditing Exxon’s expenses from 1999 to 2017, the British Consultancy Group hired to perform the audit, IHS Markit, flagged a US$214 sum of questionable spending. This figure received a no-objection from GRA, and an indication to close the US$1.6B audit of Exxon’s expenses.

However, following this no-objection, it was revealed that Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Bobby Gossai Jr., engaged ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, formerly known as Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), in reducing the US$214 million to US$3 million.

Gossai is currently facing is facing “disciplinary measures” over the unauthorised meeting with Exxon. Meanwhile, GRA has maintained that US$214.4M is final disputed figure in cost oil audit.