Cnooc Challenges Exxon on Ghana Oil Field

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Cnooc(CEO Quote), the big Chinese energy company, is in advanced talks with Ghana National Petroleum for a stake in a major offshore oil discovery in West Africa, challenging Exxon Mobil's (XOM Quote)$4 billion offer, a report says.

A GNPC-Cnooc bid "will be competitive to what Exxon has offered," the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Last week, the Journal reported Exxon had agreed to buy a $4 billion stake in the Jubilee oil field from Kosmos Energy, which entered into a binding agreement with Exxon for its 23.5% stake. Other stakeholders in the oilfield include Anadarko Petroleum (APC Quote) and Tullow Oil, which has a 34.7% stake.

Kosmos is partly owned by private-equity firms Blackstone(BX Quote)and Warburg Pincus.

Jubilee is estimated to hold 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil.

The Journal says a GNPC-Cnooc bid reflects the Chinese government's desire to secure access to more of the world's oil and the Ghanaian government to be a larger participant in the discovery.

GNCPC and Cnooc are expected to make a counter bid in the next few days, the Journal reports, citing a person familiar with the matter.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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