Page 6 - AfrOil Week 42 2021

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Fitch puts Kosmos on Ratings Watch

Positive after Ghana deal with Occidental

GHANA FITCH Ratings has changed the status of According to Fitch, the acquisition of the
US-based Kosmos Energy to Rating Watch Pos- Ghanaian assets is expected to benefit Kosmos.
itive (RWP) in light of the company’s recent deal “We view the transaction as significantly cred-
with Occidental Petroleum, another US com- it-enhancing, due to its low-risk, immediate
pany, for the acquisition of the latter’s interest in contribution to cash flows and production, as
several Ghanaian oilfields. well as given the significant amount of equity
The agency explained in a statement last being used to fund the acquisition,” the agency
week that it had moved Kosmos’ long-term said.
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of B into the RWP Both Jubilee and TEN are operated by Tullow
category, up from B-. As a result, the company’s Oil (UK/Ireland). Jubilee is Ghana’s largest
upcoming issue of some $400mn worth of notes oil-producing site. ™
is expected to carry a senior unsecured rating of
B(EXP), and it is also on RWP.
Fitch said it had taken this step following
RWP follows Kosmos’ acquisition of addi-
tional holdings in its existing assets in Ghana
from Occidental Petroleum for approximately
$550mn, or $460mn net following pur-
chase price adjustments. The latter company
announced the sale last week, saying that it had
sold all of its equity in the Jubilee oilfield and the
Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme (TEN) block to
Kosmos and Ghana National Petroleum Corp.
(GNPC).
Kosmos has confirmed the deal, which will
raise its stakes in Jubilee and TEN from 24%
and 17% respectively to 42% and 28%. (GNPC
has agreed to pay $200mn for its portion of
the stakes, in line with previous government Kosmos now has larger stakes in the Jubilee and TEN sites (Image: Kosmos Energy)
announcements.)

Head of CBOD says Ghana’s Tema

Oil Refinery ought to be privatised

GHANA SENYO Hosi, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber privatising TOR because the government is bet-
of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), has said that ter off taking revenue out of taxes from a func-
the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has to be priva- tioning TOR under a private-sector hand who
tised to stop it from acting as a drain on the has skin in the game,” he said.
Ghanaian economy. “The strategic matter that has bedeviled TOR
According to Hosi, TOR’s management team all this while is a governance matter that feeds
must be reconstituted to include private individ- into the management matter,” he added. He
uals who have the requisite expertise and man- described TOR as a “national liability,” saying
agerial know-how to run the facility. He made that Accra ought to identify the factors affecting
a statement to this effect in an interview with work efficiency at the refinery.
JoyNews, following reports that a number of Hosi went on to say that he believed the best
TOR staff members had been indicted for alleg- way to solve the problems at the plant was to pri-
edly stealing some petroleum products. vatise TOR.
“We have to take a strategic decision about But he also called for further action.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 20•October•2021