BP to battle ExxonMobil for Ghana oil

BP, the oil group, is considering a bid for one of Africa’s biggest offshore oilfields in a move that could pitch it into a direct battle for control with ExxonMobil, its arch US rival.

BP has held talks with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) about a possible joint bid for a stake in the Jubilee deepwater field in Ghana, which reportedly contains up to 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

BP has not yet made a final decision but has hired Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, to advise it on a possible bid for the 23 per cent stake held by Kosmos Energy, a private equity-backed energy firm.

A bid from BP would threaten to derail a plan by Exxon to acquire the Kosmos stake for more than $4 billion. Kosmos unveiled plans to sell all of its Ghana assets to Exxon, the world’s largest oil company, on October 12.

BP could face problems because Exxon’s agreement to buy the assets from Kosmos is believed to be exclusive. However, Ghana shocked investors this month by declaring that Exxon’s deal to buy the stake from Kosmos was illegal.

GNPC has said that it wants to buy the stake and has the cash to do so, potentially by working with a foreign partner.

Phil Corbett, oil and gas analyst at RBS, said: “It’s anyone’s guess how this plays out, but it is clear that there is a strong level of industry interest.”

Both BP and Exxon declined to comment.

The Jubilee field is 35 per cent owned by Tullow Oil, a UK-listed company whose shares surged yesterday on reports of BP’s interest.

Other stakeholders include Anadarko Petroleum, another US group, with 23.5 per cent, and GNPC with just under 14 per cent.

The discovery of oil in the deepwater Jubilee field in June 2007 is set to propel Ghana, whose economy depends on cocoa exports, into one of Africa’s top oil exporting countries when production begins next year.