The government of Ghana has announced that it has not blocked a proposed $4 billion oilfield stake sale by Kosmos Energy to Exxon Mobil as speculated by the International media.
However, sources say government is bent on taking a drastic decision to curb the transaction process between the two firms if they refuse to adhere to its regulations.
The Wall Street Journal is recalled to have reported last week threat the government had blocked the deal, something it had been threatening to do since October last year, and would only allow the state oil company to buy the stake.
The source said the government had written to Exxon about the deal but had not gone beyond repeating the threat. �We�re telling them that we prefer that they don�t continue�and if they do, we�ll not approve of it,� the source said.
Kosmos sources have said the government could only block the deal if it could show the potential buyer lacks sufficient technical skills or financial strength � a hurdle the world�s largest non-government controlled oil company is unlikely to fail.
Analysts said if the government was to block the deal, it could face legal action from Kosmos. And that the threats to block the deal could be suicidal to the government.
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