Last Updated- Nov 28, 2009 10:43 - - 1 Comment


Ghana says had deal with Kosmos Energy before ExxonMobil entry

Oil RigThe state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says it had reached an understanding with Kosmos Energy to buy the Texas-based oil and gas company’s stake in the country’s largest oil field before a deal between Kosmos and ExxonMobil was announced, according to a report by the Bloomberg news service.

According to the report citing an interview with the Managing Director of the GNPC, Nana Boakye Asafu-Adjaye, GNPC is still in talks with Kosmos, adding that the company has money ready to buy the stake.

There was a furore when in October 2009 Kosmos Energy announced it had struck a $4 billion deal with ExxonMobil to sell its stake in the Jubilee oil field. Kosmos announced that it had signed a binding agreement with Texas neighbour ExxonMobil, but the deal could materialize only after approval is given by the Ghana government.

The Ghana government did not approve the deal, but instead accused Kosmos Energy of not playing by the terms of the deal with Ghana and subsequently sought money which it raised from a consortium of banks to purchase the stake.

The Jubilee oil fields is said to be the largest to be discovered in West Africa in the last 10 to 15 years and commercial production of oil is expected to start in June 2010.

Acording to Tullow Oil, the major stakeholders in the field, it has 1.8 billion barrels and has 17 wells.

Dr Kwabena Donkor, Deputy Minister of Energy had said that under Phase One of the Jubilee Field project, 120,000 barrels of oil and 120,000 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day would be produced in 2010.

Production would be increased to 240,000 barrels of oil and 240,000 million standard cubic feet of gas per day under the second phase of the Jubilee Field project which is expected to commence in 2013.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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Comments

One Response to “Ghana says had deal with Kosmos Energy before ExxonMobil entry”

  1. godwin on December 30th, 2009 10:52 pm

    don’t agree with what government is coming up with.
    i therefore suggest it should be given to the exxonmobil guys…

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