Govt ready to bid for Kosmos

24/7/09

page 29

THE government has declared its intention to bid for the interest of Kosmos Energy in the Jubilee Oil fields, should the company decide to sell its stake.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Michael Akwasi-Sarpong, although the ministry had not been approached by Kosmos in this respect, the government would not hesitate to bid for either a part or the whole stake of the company, if it resolves to sell.
Mr Akwasi-Sarpong was clarifying the government’s position on the issue in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
The sale of Kosmos Energy’s title in the oil field has become the subject of recent public debate.
Speculations are that Kosmos Energy, with a 30.875 per cent stake in the Jubilee Oil field and 18 per cent in the Deep Water Tano block wants to offload its interest, estimated at $3 billion.
The deadline for an initial bid, according to sources, closed on July 17, 2009, but has been extended for another 30 days.
Some companies that have been cited to have expressed interest in the stake include Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Italy’s Eni SpA and Shell.
Mr Akwasi-Sarpong said the Deputy Energy Minister, Mr Kwabena Donkor had categorically expressed government’s interest, and noted that the government would not force any investor out of the industry, but would work with all partners and players provided they complied with all rules and regulations.
He said the government was more interested that partners in the sector retained their stakes in order to create jobs for Ghanaians.
This, he said, was because the government alone could not control large stakes in the sector as other oil producing countries were doing.
“Government wants to ensure that jobs are created for Ghanaians and would be happy if investors with stakes in the Jubilee field stayed to create jobs in the country,” he said.
Kosmos Energy is said to have received funds worth $800 million from two private equity firms, Blackstone and Warburg Pincus and has hired Standard Chartered and Barclays Plc to sell its stake in the Jubilee filed.
The company is also reported to have signed a $750 million loan facility deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group to fund the development of the discoveries.
The loan facility, reports indicate has a final maturity date up to December, 2015 and include an early-draw tranche of up to US$300 million that Kosmos could access immediately on receipt of government's consent to the security package.
The company has also recieved approval from the government for a phase-one plan of development for the field.
The Jubilee field is one of West Africa's biggest oil strikes in years, stipulated to contain reserves of at least 1.2 billion barrels, with first output scheduled for the second half of 2010.