The Director of Exploration and Production of the state owned Ghana national Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has rubbished recent media reports that sought to say that “the corporation has not said it wants to buy the shares of Kosmos.”

Mr. Manu who is currently outside the country on official duties refuted the report during a brief phone interview with The Heritage before press time yesterday.

Citifmonline news reported the deputy Energy Minister, Inusa Fuseini, to have said, “GNPC has not said that it wants to buy the shares of Kosmos” but Mr. Manu maintained that it wasn’t true.

Numerous attempts to get Minister Inusa for his comments on the said media report before press time proved futile. A visible discrepancy in the citifmonline report is that, the same deputy energy minister who is supposed to have said that GNPC has not said it wants to buy the shares of Kosmos is again quoted to have said, “Indeed, we have not changed position; we are saying that first things first, let Kosmos do the right thing.

As government and people of Ghana, we are aware and we cannot close our eyes to what has happened between Kosmos and Exxon Mobil. “The second thing is that we are still engaging with Kosmos, even though we are aware of the relationship of the transaction that has ensued between Kosmos and Exxon mobile,” he added.

In a letter dated June 29, 2010, sent to President Mills by Brian F. Maxted, the president and chief executive officer of Kosmos Energy, which was copied to the energy minister, dr. Joe-Oteng and chairman of the board of firectors of GNPC, Mr. Ato Ahwoi, the Kosmos boss formally announced his company’s intention to offload its 30 percent shares in the Jubilee Field to Exxon Mobil and also sought to crave the indulgence of the Presidency to consider blessing the Kosmos –Exxon Mobil deal.

“We also understand and respect Ghana’s national interest in determining the future disposition of these valuable resources. For that reason, when KOSMOS decided to sell its assets in Ghana, including the company’s interests in the West Cape Three Points Deepwater Tano Blocks, we sought the most capable company we could find as the purchaser.

“We believe Exxon/Mobil fully meets the technical and financial requirements to succeed KOSMOS and would bring to Ghana advantages that other company can’t match. Indeed, we think Exxon/Mobil sets the industry standard in many aspects of the petroleum business, including its environmental and safety performances.

The government has since requested ExxonMobil to provide a comprehensive proposal for study on whether it seeks the utmost interest of Ghanaians, should it be given the Kosmos Energy in the Jubilee Field.

The decision was arrived at after a government team, led by the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, had met top officials of ExxonMobil in Accra last week Tuesday.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was tailored towards paving the way for negotiations to commence between the government and ExxonMobil on the latter’s intention to acquire the shares of Kosmos Energy in the Jubilee Field.