Last Updated- Nov 4, 2009 17:06 - - 0 Comments


Total, Chevron say Ghana’s Jubilee deal is “big mess”

Oil RigEurope’s third largest oil producer, Total SA and Chevron Corporation have both said they are no more interested in pursuing the Kosmos Energy stake in Ghana’s largest oil field, the Jubilee field because, how ownership is divided is unclear.

The two companies even described the deal “as a big mess” saying they do not intend to increase the messy situation, the Bloomberg news service has reported.

Ghana announced the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in June 2007. The Jubilee field which is said to be the largest oil field to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years holds 1.8 billion barrels of oil and has 17 wells according to the majority stakeholder, UK-based Tullow Oil.

Texas-based Kosmos Energy which holds a 23.49% stake in Jubilee agreed to sell to US company ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil made an offer of $4 billion for the stake. But the deal could only materialize if the Ghana government approved it.

The state-owned oil and gas company, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has announced that it would buy the stake, indicating that it has raised money from a consortium of banks to do so. The sale to ExxonMobil therefore, never happened, even though, they have signed a binding agreement with Kosmos Energy.

Commercial production of oil from the field is expected to start in June 2010.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Story Print This Story

Comments

Got something to say?