GUYANA – The Government of Guyana (GoG) and the Opposition have failed to ensure Guyana’s oil wealth is prudently managed to maximize benefits to Guyanese. This is evident in 12 glaring areas, which if implemented or enforced could have ensured the country receives a fair share of its resource. Notably, these actions do not require a renegotiation of the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with ExxonMobil and its partners.
Guyana has failed to conduct timely audits of ExxonMobil’s US-multibillion dollar expenses, which the country ultimately pays for through its oil. According to the PSA, government has a two-year timeline to complete audits, however the administration has not been able to ensure the financial reviews are conducted within this stipulated timeframe. Additionally, government has been criticized for failing to publish the audit reports, which expose the abuse of the country’s oil revenue by the multinational corporation. To date, the final audit report of the second review is still to be published.
Although there have been calls for Exxon to be penalized for misusing the country’s oil money, as have been demonstrated in previous audit findings, the government is not inclined to punish the operator for its actions. The Opposition has effectively agreed with the government’s position on this. (Kaieteurnews)