Reporting Oil and Gas

Oil production to start next year – Tullow

Tullow Ghana Limited, one of the companies involved in oil exploration in the country, has reaffirmed its commitment to start producing oil by the last quarter of next year.

It said it was working diligently and feverishly to produce first-class quality products.

The company is expected to produce 120,000 barrels of oil a day when it starts production.

The Vice-President of External Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility of Tullow Ghana, Ms Rosalind Kainyah, made this known when she led a three-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibraham Awal, in Accra yesterday.

The other members of the delegation were Mr Kofi Esson, the Government and External Relations Manager, and Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei, the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager.

Tullow Oil Plc is one of Europe’s leading independent exploration and production companies operating a balanced worldwide portfolio which stretches across Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America.

The company is a versatile and balanced group with a portfolio of quality oil and gas assets managed by a team with excellent technical, commercial and financial skills.

Its exploratory successes in the Jubilee and adjoining fields have made Ghana one of Tullow’s most important concessions.

Ms Kainyah said the company was committed to improving the lot of the people in its area of operation to ensure that they led better lives.

According to her, the company would not only provide employment opportunities for the people, but also equip them and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the requisite training.

She explained that oil revenue would be used for the benefit of the people and described the discovery of oil in the country as a blessing.

Ms Kainyah said the company would engage in sound environmental practices and indicated that its environmental impact assessment (EIA) would be made public next week by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Mr Awal urged Tullow Ghana to learn from the problems some oil exploration companies were facing in other countries to avoid confrontation with the local people.

He pledged the commitment of the GCGL to partner and work with the company and urged it to take advantage of the GCGL’s newspapers to do business in the country.

According to him, the GCGL had 85 per cent of the market share, of which Tullow could take advantage as it operated in the country, adding that it should not wait until there were problems.

He said G-Pak, a subsidiary of the GCGL, was also available for the printing of high quality labels .

For his part, Mr Esson said the company was sponsoring 14 members of staff of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNP C) to pursue practical studies in various disciplines in oil and gas exploration and production, adding that 10 of them were into petroleum engineering.

Tullow has interests in two exploration licences offshore Ghana – Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points.

Both blocks lie in deep water and in 2007 two successful exploration wells located a substantial discovery which straddles the boundary between the two blocks, known as the Jubilee Field.

In 2008, an accelerated Jubilee appraisal and development programme commenced on the field. The first appraisal well, Mahogany-2, was drilled in May, followed by the Hyedua-2 and Mahogany-3 wells at the end of2008.

The results from these wells indicated that Jubilee is a continuous stratigraphic trap with combined hydrocarbon columns in excess of 600 metres.

Source: Daily Graphic

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African Oil Trends’ Focus of New Gold Star Resources Website

African oil trends and news is the focus of a new website sponsored by Gold Star Resources Corp. (TSX-V; GXX; OTC Bulletin Board: GXXFF; http://www.goldstarresources.com), a Canadian oil company involved in the strategic acquisition of ‘onshore’ prospective oil and gas exploration projects in West Africa.

Gold Star Resources created the new website because of the company’s emergence as an energy resource player in West Africa. The firm recently announced its acquisition of International Resource Strategies Liberia Energy Inc. (IRSLE), as well as a Letter-of-Intent with a Ghanian-based Bengal Bight Ghana Ltd. To acquire 100% interest in the hydrocarbon rights of Bengal’s 1,000 sq. km. Tiampoum mining concession in Cote d’Ivoire, near the border of Ghana. “We wanted our new website to have a specific page focused on African oil trends because it’s now obvious that the African continent offers more investing opportunities than anywhere else in the world,” stated Patrick Morris, President and CEO of Gold Star Resources Corp.

” The African Oil Trends page on the new website lists exciting news and analysis about the energy resource business in West Africa including some interesting articles about U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent historic trip to Ghana. If people are interested in knowing what’s happening in West Africa, then they’ll want to visit our new website.” The new Gold Star Resources website also highlights the need for increased humanitarian efforts in Africa.

“There’s a special page entitled ‘Humanitarian’ devoted to the medical, educational, and nutritional needs of Africans,” said Morris. “Gold Star Resources believes that energy resource companies need to reinvest their time and money to improve the lives of all Africans. We hope to be among the leaders in this effort

.” Morris is bullish on the investment potential of the African energy market. “Africa is now likely to be among the best performing energy markets in the world,” said Morris.

http://www.goldstarresources.com

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KOSMOS ENERGY CLOSES US$750 MILLION LOAN FACILITIES

Financing to Fully Fund Company’s Share of Jubilee Oil Field Phase-One Development Offshore Ghana DALLAS, Texas, July 14, 2009 – Kosmos Energy announces today that it has signed definitive documentation for US$750 million project finance debt facilities.

The facilities are to be secured by the shares of the company’s subsidiary Kosmos Energy Ghana and its interest in the world-class Jubilee oil field offshore Ghana. This financing will fully fund Kosmos’ share of Jubilee’s phase-one development. The US$750 million of debt is divided among a senior facility of US$550 million, a junior facility of US$100 million and facilities of US$100 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The main facility has a final maturity date of December 2015.

The facilities include an early-draw tranche of up to US$300 million that Kosmos can access immediately on receipt of the Ghanaian government’s consent to the security package, which is consistent with ordinary practice for this type of debt facility. Facilities’ documentation was executed by Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas SA, Société Générale, IFC, Absa Bank Limited, Africa Finance Corporation, Calyon and Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund III, L.P. Standard Chartered was integral in structuring the transaction and is the Global Coordinator for the facilities, Co-Technical and Modeling Bank and Senior Facility Agent. BNP Paribas is Security Trustee, Junior Facility Agent and has the role of Hedging Coordinator Bank, and Société Générale is the Lead Technical and Modeling Bank.

Kosmos’ counsel was Slaughter and May, and lenders’ counsel was Clifford Chance. Credit Suisse provided Kosmos with certain financial advisory services in relation to this transaction. “This debt financing provides one of the essential components in ensuring a timely achievement of first oil production for Ghana. Together with the equity invested by Warburg Pincus and The Blackstone Group, it provides Kosmos with the financial resources necessary to fully develop the first phase of the Jubilee oil field,” said W. Greg Dunlevy, Kosmos Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “We believe the fact that we put in place a debt facility of this magnitude for our world-class project in the current credit environment is a significant achievement.

This is evidence of the confidence of the international financial community in Kosmos’ team of seasoned executives and employees, as well as its strong support of investment in the emerging Ghanaian oil sector.” Kosmos, operator of the West Cape Three Points Block, drilled the Mahogany-1 exploration well that discovered the Jubilee Field, the world’s biggest oil find in 2007 and one of the largest oil discoveries offshore West Africa during the last decade.

Kosmos has drilled seven consecutive successful exploration and appraisal wells for a 100 percent success rate for all the wells the company has drilled to date offshore Ghana. (more) Kosmos and its partners are executing a phased development plan for the Jubilee Field, which is located on the West Cape Three Points Block and adjacent Deepwater Tano Block. The company believes that phase-one development will produce in excess of the planned 300 million barrels of recoverable oil. The designed production capacity of phase one is 120,000 barrels of crude per day.

Jubilee Unit – Development Kosmos Energy is the technical operator for development of the Jubilee Unit and holds a 23.491% interest in the unit. An affiliate of Tullow Oil plc (LSE: TWL.L) is the unit operator and has a 34.705% interest in the unit. Other unit interest holders include an affiliate of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) with a 23.491% interest; Sabre Oil and Gas with a 2.813% interest; EO Group with a 1.750% interest; and GNPC with a 13.750%, after exercising its applicable back-in rights for field development. West Cape Three Points Block Kosmos Energy is the operator of the West Cape Three Points Block in which the company holds a 30.875% interest. An affiliate of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) has a 30.875% interest; an affiliate of Tullow Oil plc (LSE: TWL.L) has a 22.896% interest; the EO Group has a 3.5% interest; and Sabre Oil and Gas has a 1.854% interest in the block. GNPC has a 10% carried interest. Deepwater Tano Block Kosmos holds an 18% interest in the Deepwater Tano Block. An affiliate of Tullow Oil plc (LSE: TWL.L) operates the block with a 49.95% interest. An affiliate of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) has an 18% interest; Sabre Oil & Gas has a 4.05% interest; and GNPC has a 10% carried interest.

About Kosmos Energy: Kosmos Energy is a privately held international oil exploration and production company with a focus in West Africa. Kosmos is led by a seasoned management and technical team with extensive international and West Africa experience, and a proven record of finding and developing significant oil reserves. With the financial backing of international private equity investors Warburg Pincus and The Blackstone Group, the company possesses significant financial and operational capability to generate and participate in multiple high-impact upstream projects.

For additional information, visit www.kosmosenergy.com. ### CONTACT: Kosmos Energy: W. Greg Dunlevy +1-214-445-9600ing

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Oil And Gas Course Kicks Off Today
Frederick Asiamah
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Accra — The first annual summer course on the ‘Governance of Oil, Mining and Gas Revenues’ will officially open in Accra today, Monday July 13, 2009.
At least 30 participants including civil society activists, local government officials, parliamentary staff and media representatives from Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania will take part in the course, which will close on Friday July 24.
The Revenue Watch Institute, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) are organizing the course as part of their effort to establish a “Regional Extractive Industry Knowledge Hub” to strengthen the capacities of stakeholders in the Mining, Oil and Gas sector.
The purpose of the course is to strengthen, equip and empower participants to exercise their oversight roles effectively in the prudent management of extractive industry revenues by their host governments.
Participants will be taken through topics such as “Global Structure & Global Trends in OGM Industries”, “Mineral, Oil, Gas Development process”, “Introduction to Flexible Fiscal Mechanisms”, “Resource Revenue Reporting”, “Transparency & Good Governance – Global & African Initiatives”, “Spending of Resource Revenues – National & Sub-national Issues & approaches”, and “Local Economic Development – Issues faced: Economic/ Legal/ Administrative.”
Participants will also be taken out of the classroom to visit the Goldfields Mine, communities and mining.
For Ghanaians taking part in the course, it will be a fine opportunity to sharpen their capacities to lead a crusade for the prudent investment of oil resources to avoid the oil curse. First oil flow in Ghana is expected by the end of 2010.
Many believe mining has disadvantaged local communities and it will be important to ensure oil revenue is not handled in like manner.
A few months ago, civil society groups kicked against the approval of a joint bid from Kosmos and Tullow Energy for a $215 million finance package for the development of the Jubilee oil field.
The CSOs had argued there was no completed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which had been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana. The internationally accepted purpose of an ESIA is to assess the potential impact of a project prior to approval to determine whether, and under what conditions, it should be approved.
A recent Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC)/Oxfam America research report titled: Ghana’s Big Test: Oil’s Challenge to Democratic Development, has recommended that Ghana should develop policy principles, a master plan, and regulations in sequence and as a package. It also encouraged the disclosure of all petroleum agreements and licenses.
According to the document “The government will be in a better bargaining position and receive better outcomes if all actors know that agreements will be disclosed.”
On the other hand, there is consensus that Ghana’s Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) is a detrimental piece of legislation that governs irresponsible mining. The opinion of Prof Atta Britwum of the Department of French, University of Cape Coast, on this law is that it places Ghana among countries that “have very loose regulatory framework governing the mining sector.”
Mr Yaw Opoku, a legal consultant, has described the law as a perfect example of a “neo-colonial law” in the sense that it is a piece of legislation that “carries our resources out of this country.”
Public Agenda

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