'Ghana firm says sale of stake to Exxon illegal'

ACCRA: State-run Ghana National Petroleum Corp (GNPC) believes Kosmos Energy's deal to sell its stake in the huge Jubilee oil field to Exxon Mobil is illegal and is ready to buy the stake itself, a GNPC source said.

Ghana has received expressions of interest from the China National Offshore Oil Corp for Kosmos's stake, according to the source, who declined to be named. But the West African state is ready and able to make the purchase on its own, and would decide later with whom to partner.

The Jubilee field is one of the largest oil finds in West Africa in the past decade and sources said last week that Exxon Mobil had reached a multibillion-dollar agreement with Kosmos to buy its stake in the field.