ExxonMobil says it will be cooperating with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) in the ongoing audit of its US$460 million pre-contract and cost recovery charges even as the company projects that the Liza-1 oil well development alone will cost approximately US$4.4 billion.
The audit of the pre-contract costs is occurring against the backdrop of growing questions about whether the GRA has the capacity to be undertaking the process and whether the government has formally delegated authority to it for this purpose. Questions have also been raised about why the state audit office is not involved.
“As stated in the contract, the US$460 million are costs incurred from 1999 through 2015. Since then, and through the life of the Liza project, all costs incurred have been and will be submitted to the government,” ExxonMobil’s Public and Government Affairs Officer Deedra Moe told Sunday Stabroek on Friday.
