Watching developments: in Ghana
Ghana lays down Jubilee law
The Ghanaian government said it has not blocked the estimated $4 billion sale of a Kosmos Energy's stake in the Jubilee oilfield to US supermajor ExxonMobil - but added it will do so if the parties do not abandon the deal, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Ghana's Energy Minister Jospeh Oteng-Adjei told a news conference that Jubilee has recoverable reserves of 800 million barrels.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the government had blocked the deal, something it has been threatening to do since October, and would only allow the state oil company to buy the stake.
A source told Reuters the government had written to ExxonMobil about the deal but had not gone beyond repeating the threat.
"We're telling them that we prefer that they don't continue ... and if they do, we'll not approve of it," the government source said.
The move will foil months of talks between ExxonMobil and Kosmos Energy, according to media reports.
Kosmos sources have said the government can only block the deal if it can show the potential buyer lacks sufficient technical skills or financial strength - a hurdle the world's largest non-government controlled oil company is unlikely to fail.
Analysts said if the government were to block the deal, it could face legal action from Kosmos and that the threats to block the deal could be aimed at scuppering it without opening itself to such a liability.
Dallas-based Kosmos is backed by US private equity funds Blackstone Group and Warburg Pincus.
ExxonMobil spokesman Patrick McGinn said the company does not "comment on the details of commercial discussions or opportunities", adding only that it "routinely evaluates potential development opportunities around the world".