A battle between Exxon Mobil, the American oil giant, and BP over one of the largest oilfields in the world is set to intensify this month ahead of a key January deadline. Exxon agreed in early October to pay $4 billion (£2.4 billion) for a quarter stake in the Jubilee field off the coast of Ghana. The sale agreement, struck with Kosmos Energy, the US firm, was done despite requests from the Ghanaian government to slow down the process. When it was presented to the Ghanaians for approval, they refused and invited rival offers. The government has hired Freshfields, the law firm, to advise it on its legal options. Ghana has no oil industry. The field, estimated to hold 1.8 billion barrels, has the potential to vastly alter the fortunes of a nation with a per capita GDP of $1,500. BP, which is being advised by Goldman Sachs, offered to buy the stake with Sinopec, the Chinese state oil group, and Ghana National Petroleum as partners. BP and Exxon declined to comment. Exxon has argued that the sale agreement is legally binding and is thought to be considering taking Ghana to court if it refuses to approve the deal. Time is running out. It is understood that Exxon’s purchase agreement lapses in January. If it is allowed to expire it could pave the way for BP’s rival bid. “Exxon have to think very hard about what they want to do. Do they really want to enter a new country by taking the host government to court?” said a source. “It would be an odd way to spend $4 billion.” Before Exxon reached its deal, Ghana National Petroleum was understood to have been holding talks directly with Kosmos about buying it out. It didn’t have the financing at the time but now claims to have lined up funds for an offer. BP is waiting for the row between the government and Exxon to be resolved before reopening talks with the Ghanaians. The battle is one of many breaking out around the world as oil companies become increasingly desperate in their search for new resources. ENI, the Italian giant, last week paid $1.5 billion for new Ugandan fields discovered by Heritage Oil. In Iraq the world’s largest oil groups have signed a flurry of deals in recent months to develop the war-torn country’s reserves. Ghana’s Jubilee field was discovered in 2007 by a group of oil companies led by Tullow Oil, the FTSE 100 explorer. It was hailed as the largest discovery in West Africa in more than a decade. Tullow is the controlling shareholder with a 49% stake. US partners Sabre Oil and Anadarko Petroleum own the rest. They expect to start producing oil next summer. Its development could transform Ghana, which relies on agriculture and where a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. Kosmos is owned by Blackstone and Warburg Pincus, the buyout groups. Source: Times Online