Dividing up the find: GNPC still wants a slice of Jubilee.
GNPC still wants Jubilee slice
State-run Ghana National Petroleum Corp (GNPC) is still interested in buying Kosmos Energy's stake in the giant Jubilee oilfield, a GNPC source said today, two days after sources close to the matter said US supermajor ExxonMobil had clinched a multi-billion-dollar deal for the asset.
However, the shape of a final deal remained open as the GNPC source indicated the Ghanaian firm could ultimately sell on any interest gained, while a separate source close to the matter said GNPC's desire for a role "can be accommodated."
"We are still pursuing that and we are very hopeful of reaching an agreement (with Kosmos)," the GNPC source said of its interest in the Kosmos stake.
"But that does not mean we are going to keep all of it, all the time," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sources earlier in the week told Reuters that ExxonMobil had reached a deal with private equity-backed Kosmos to buy the stake in the Jubilee field.
Analysts put the value of such a deal at around $5 billion.
Kosmos has 30.875% ownership in the West Cape Three Points block and an 18% interest in the Deepwater Tano block offshore Ghana.
There are still many unknowns about the final deal, some of which could ultimately lead to Ghana controlling part or all of Kosmos' stake in Jubilee, US-based analysts said.
"There may or may not be preemptory rights," Mark Gilman, energy analyst at The Benchmark said.
"Even if they are not built in, we're dealing with a sovereign nation."
A Ghanaian government source told Reuters on yesterday that under domestic procedures, GNPC was required to appraise the deal to make sure it was the best offer "not only in monetary terms but also (that) it should come with technical expertise."
Any proposed deal would then go via the energy ministry to President John Atta Mills' cabinet for a final decision.
"We are going to go by the rules," said the GNPC source.
"We are also aware that time is of the essence in this whole transaction - it is in nobody's interest if this drags on."
Ghana, which is looking to pump oil from Jubilee from late next year on, will seek ways to maximise economic benefit from the project, with the field's potential being a potent lure.
Yet Pavel Molchanov, oil analyst at Raymond James, said it would be difficult for Ghana to raise the billions of funds needed to buy Kosmos' entire stake and said ExxonMobil would likely take part in some way.
"It would be a very large purchase for a very small economy," Molchanov said.
"It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. I suspect there will be a role for Exxon in some way."
One source close to the matter said an outcome satisfying GNPC's desire to play a larger role was nonetheless possible.
"There are ways that can be accommodated," said the source, who asked for anonymity.
GNPC itself has a 10% stake in the West Cape Three Points and Deepwater Tano concession areas, plus a 3.75% stake in the Jubilee field straddling the two concession areas, according to its website.
A Kosmos official was not immediately available.