The auditing of ExxonMobil’s US$460 million pre-contract costs had to be extended without cost to the auditing firm due to the current COVID-19 restrictions delaying the process, Department of Energy (CE) Director Dr. Mark Bynoe has said.
“This contract is progressing well with a multi-agency team working alongside the consultant, which is IHS Markit. The contract received a no-cost extension because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bynoe told a virtual press conference last week.
Many of our contracts require the consultants to be in country with Guyanese expertise working alongside those consultations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and cessation of international flights, our consultants could not return into Guyana to complete aspects of their work so that and that has caused us some delays requiring us to provide them with a no cost suspension,” he added.
