I know this is old, but just in case it helps someone, I got around this using the following code;
Private Sub FixWorkBook(ByVal ms As MemoryStream)
Try
Dim owb As SpreadsheetDocument = SpreadsheetDocument.Open(ms, True)
For Each element In owb.WorkbookPart.Workbook.ChildElements
If element.LocalName = "extLst" Then element.Remove()
Next
For Each element In owb.WorkbookPart.WorkbookStylesPart.Stylesheet.ChildElements
If element.LocalName = "extLst" Then element.Remove()
Next
owb.Close()
Catch ex As Exception
LogError(ex, "FixWorkBook")
End Try
End Sub