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PetroSA is looking to pick up a stake in Ghana’s Jubilee oilfield and is in talks with Sabre Oil & Gas. Nosizwe Nocawe Nokwe, the head of South Africa’s state-run company, said the company hoped to conclude the deal soon.
“We hope to conclude the (Sabre) deal in the near-term future.” Nokwe told Reuters, but declined to disclose the potential value of the deal.
There is also a possibility that PetroSA will pick up a stake in Mozambique’s recently discovered offshore natural gas bounty. Nokwe said the company was in talks with ENI regarding a potential partnership in the neighboring country.
PetroSA may also participate in the next bidding round for blocks expected in Mozambique towards the end of the year.
“In our upstream strategy we are looking at access to near-producing blocks. We are constantly looking at opportunities … either by acquisitions or bidding for acreage,” she said.
Sabre has 4.05 per cent stake in the Deepwater Tano block; operated by Tullow (49/95%), and is also a partner in the producing jubilee Field with 1.7%.
“PetroSA’s interest in Sabre’s assets comes after Kosmos Energy announced in early May the termination of the acquisition of Sabre’s Ghanaian assets,” Davy analyst Caren Crowley is reported by Giles Gwinnett of Proactiveinvestors.com to have said .
Tullow has 35.5 per cent of Jubilee, while Anadarko and Kosmos Energy each hold 24.1 per cent, with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) holding 13.68 percent.
The Petro Invest report continues: “In February 2012, Kosmos announced that it would acquire Sabre’s interest in Deepwater Tano for $365m, with an additional $45m contingent upon achieving certain milestones,” said the analyst.
But she believes Tullow is unlikely to be interested in acquiring Sabre’s interests.
“Tullow is operator of the Jubilee field and the Deepwater Tano block. If anything, Tullow would be interested in trimming its interest in Deepwater Tano from a current 49.95 per cent to a level similar to Tullow’s 35.5 per cent interest in Jubilee,” she noted.
“While read-through valuations from any transaction for Sabre’s Ghanaian assets are tempting, they should be tempered by the minority interest Sabre holds in the Deepwater Tano block and, by implication, Jubilee.
“Furthermore, Sabre would appear to be a willing seller,” she added in the note.
After it started in 2010, the Jubilee field became Ghana’s third-biggest export after gold and cocoa in 2011.
New discoveries in the Deep Water Tano block include Tweneboa and Enyenra as well as other clusters of discoveries such as Mahogany, Teak, Akasa and Banda.
GNPC and partners are reported to be investing around $20 billion over the next decade to develop newly discovered fields.
Tullow shares were up 0.21 per cent Friday, July , 13, to stand at 1,427 pence.
http://www.energymin.gov.gh/