Kosmos rescinds plan to sell stakes in Ghana

ACCRA — Kosmos Energy, a US-based private oil firm, has rescinded a decision to sell its four billion dollars (almost three billion euros) of shares in Ghana's massive Jubilee oil field, a company official told AFP Tuesday.

"The best option for Kosmos now is to stay and see through the production of oil from the Jubilee field rather than sell our stakes," said the official, who demanded anonymity.

The US company had said last year it wanted to sell its stakes in the West Cape Three Points and adjacent Deepwater Tano blocs in the Jubilee field, one of west Africa's largest oil finds in the past decade.

With more than a billion barrels in reserves, the first barrels of crude are expected from the field in the last quarter of the year.

"Additionally, there are other very good prospects on the Kosmos blocs which we believe we should develop to enhance the value of our assets," said the official, speaking on the margins of an oil and gas conference in Accra.

"We still have Odum and Teak well which have not been appraised and drilled yet and we believe there are a lot of prospects there as well," he added. Ghana's Energy Minister Oteng Adjei said that the Kosmos issue was being resolved amicably between the two parties.

"The issue will be resolved amicably and the parties involved will be happy... We want to work closely with each other to reach a final solution on the issue," Adjei told AFP.