Ghana govt says disapproves of Kosmos' sale bid

ACCRA Oct 15 (Reuters) - A leading member of Ghana's ruling party on Thursday confirmed that the government does not approve of Kosmos Energy's reported deal to sell its stake in the giant offshore Jubilee field to Exxon Mobil (XOM.N).

State oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corp said earlier this week that the multi-billion dollar deal was "illegal" and that it is interested in acquiring the property itself, raising questions among analysts over whether the view reflected the government position.

"Whatever the GNPC management said is the true position of government," Ato Ahwoi, a close ally of President John Atta Mills, a leading member of the ruling party, and also the Chairman of the GNPC board, told Reuters.

Government opposition puts the Kosmos-Exxon deal, which sources say could be worth $4 billion, at risk.

GNPC Director of Operations Thomas Manu told Reuters on Thursday that the state company remained interested in Kosmos' stake in the Jubilee field, among the largest oil finds in Africa, and had deep enough pockets to pay for it.

"GNPC has the money to pay in full for the stake at the conclusion of the talks," he said.

GNPC officials remain in negotiations with private equity-backed Kosmos over the stake.

Kosmos has a 30.875 percent stake in Jubilee's West Cape Three Points block and an 18 percent stake in the Deepwater Tano block.