Govt, Kosmos resolve issues

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Back Page Lead)

GHANA has more to celebrate for its oil find following the amicable resolution of differences between the government and Kosmos Energy, one of the partners in the Jubilee Oilfields.
According to the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Agyei, issues pertaining to data disclosure on the oilfields to more than 17 companies by Kosmos Energy without government’s consent, as well as spillage of low toxicity crude on the high seas by the company, had all been settled.
There had also been a stalemate between the government and Kosmos over the company’s decision to sell its shares to Exxonmobil of the USA but that issue was no longer relevant following Kosmos’s decision not to sell its shares, the Energy Minister stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He, however, declined to give details of the resolution, as well as the dates on which the issues were straightened out.
“It is not the best to disclose all those details after fruitful ongoing negotiations. We will breach the outcome of the negotiations which are ongoing. What is important is that there is no problem between Kosmos Energy and the government right now,” Dr Oteng-Agyei emphasised.
Ghana will today join the league of oil-producing countries when President J.E.A. Mills presses the knob to pave the way for the production of oil which was discovered in commercial quantities in June 2007.
Dr Oteng-Agyei said 55,000 barrels of crude will be produced in a day over a period of six to 10 months, adding that the production would gradually increase to 120,000 barrels a day over the next couple of years.
He gave the assurance that the government had put in place measures to ensure that the revenue generated was prudently used to develop the country for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
He said the government would also ensure that oil companies complied with the laws of the country and protected the environment, adding, “We, as a government, will uphold the rights of investors and deal with them in transparency, honesty and integrity.”
Kosmos Energy and its partners discovered oil in commercial quantities at West Cape Three Points in June 2007. The other partners in the Jubilee Oilfields are Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Anadarko, Sabre Oil, the GNPC and the E. O. Group.
More discoveries have been made, aside from the Jubilee Oilfields, and due to the billions of dollars needed in the development of these oilfields, their exploitation will be carried out in phases.