Tullow pre-empts Kosmos deal for assets offshore Ghana

Tullow Oil PLC has exercised its pre-emption rights related to the sale of Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s interests in Tullow-operated Jubilee and TEN fields offshore Ghana to Kosmos Energy.

The operator is poised to pay about $150 million for the Deep Water Tano (DWT) block based on joint venture partners exercising pre-emption rights.

If both Kosmos Energy Ghana HC and Petro SA do not pre-empt, Tullow would pre-empt the entire participating interest which would increase Tullow’s equity in the DWT block by 11.05% for $206 million.

The announcement falls within the 30-day pre-emption period noted at the time of the October deal struck between Kosmos and Occidental for an additional 18% interest in Jubilee field and an additional 11% interest in TEN fields (OGJ Online, Oct. 25, 2021).

The exercise of pre-emption rights is subject to finalizing definitive agreements with Kosmos-Anadarko and requires approval from Ghana National Petroleum Corp. and the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy. If completed, Kosmos’ ultimate interest in Jubilee would be reduced by 3.8% to 38.3% (Kosmos retains about 80% of the original acquired interest), and Kosmos’ ultimate interest in TEN would be reduced by 8.3% to 19.8% (Kosmos retains about 25% of the original acquired interest).