The additional seven percent stake acquired by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) in the Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) and Jubilee oil fields came at a cost of $199 million to the National Oil Company (NOC).
The acquisition of the seven percent stake of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation which is now owned by Occidental Petroleum, the GNPC noted in a press release dated October 14, 2021, adds to its existing Carried and Participating Interest (CAPI) of 13.64% in the Jubilee Field, and the 15% in the TEN Field.
According to the NOC, the interests acquired will be transferred to GNPC’s subsidiary, the GNPC Exploration and Production Company (GNPC Explorco).
Commenting on the acquisition, the Chief Executive of GNPC, Dr Kofi Koduah Sarpong said, “This acquisition is of immense benefit to GNPC as it allows GNPC
Explorco to start generating cashflow for its activities. There is also a debt write-off in excess of USD30 million from KOSMOS Energy. Kosmos Energy has also agreed to train GNPC technical staff in support of GNPC’s quest to build operator capacity”.
GNPC’s acquisition of Anadarko’s seven percent stake in the two oil blocks is in line with the GNPC and government’s strategy to increase participating stakes in the country’s viable oil blocks.
With the acquisition, GNPC Explorco will become part of the contractor group for the two oil blocks, together with Tullow, Petro SA and Kosmos Energy.
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Background
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is reportedly said to have sold its 7 percent stake in the TEN and Jubilee oil fields to American upstream firm, Kosmos Energy.
According to deep throat sources, the sale of the shares by Anadarko to Kosmos Energy was completed Wednesday, October 13.
The sale of the 7 percent shares to Kosmos Energy allows Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to own 7 percent more in the TEN and Jubilee blocks.
Currently, GNPC owns stakes of 13.64% and 10% in the Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) and Jubilee oilfields respectively.
Earlier, there was trench warfare between the companies engaged in the battle for the stakes in the two oilfields.
Reports say that in mid-September, in an attempt to get final approval from the Energy Ministry, Kosmos offered the 7% stake in Jubilee and TEN.
Asset sales are a key part of the strategy of Occidental, the parent company, to pay back debt after long-term borrowing surged nearly five times to more than US$48 billion following the 2019 purchase of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Occidental has sold nearly $9.2 billion of assets since then, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Occidental acquired the Ghana assets under the Anadarko takeover.
