Australian official: Anomalies revealed in marketing company reports

Oct. 10, 2000
A series of independent audits has revealed anomalies in returns submitted by units of Caltex, ExxonMobil Corp., BP, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group under Australia's Petroleum Marketing Retail Sites Act of 1980, said Australia's Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Sen. Nick Minchin.


A series of independent audits has revealed anomalies in returns submitted by units of Caltex, ExxonMobil Corp., BP, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group under Australia's Petroleum Marketing Retail Sites Act of 1980, said Australia's Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Sen. Nick Minchin.

The act requires companies to provide detailed reports each January on the number of retail petroleum sites the companies operate under the different categories specified in the Act.

Sen. Minchin asked the companies to appoint independent auditors to verify the accuracy of monthly returns for January 1998, 1999, and 2000 after Mobil said it had found inaccuracies in its paperwork.

Auditors found a number of errors in the companies' returns, including not reporting sites that should have been reported, reporting sites that should not have been reported, and misclassifying sites, said Minchin.