Excerpts from Wikileaks.. On the politics of oil and gas find in Ghana

Dated February 24, 2010

THE UGLY: CONCERNS ABOUT CONTRACT SANCTITY

¶7. (C) The primary concerns of many of the representatives were contract sanctity and rule of law. Tullow said the
government is "turning a blind eye to what the contracts actually say," a threat to the investment climate in Ghana. He said it was important to feel confident that contracts will remain in place over different administrations, and they do not have confidence in that level of consistency in Ghana. Tullow said that in their experience, unfavorable laws that are consistent are preferrable to inconsistently applied
favorable laws.

¶8. (C) Kosmos agreed and said that the Mills Administration had "systematically interfered" with the sale of its asset. They said that sanctity of contracts is "out the window" in
Ghana, and the government is trying to "shake us down." Kosmos said that this interference by the GOG was a
deliberate attempt to lower their reputation, and thereby drive down the value of their asset. They described their experience as a "pattern of government misbehavior" and said
Ghana could not be called a democracy in spite of their elections because of their behavior between elections. The
Assistant Secretary disagreed with this assessment of democracy, but agreed that sanctity of contracts is crucial.
Schlumberger attributed the GOG's interference in the sale of
Kosmos's asset to political concerns. They said that because Kosmos's financial partners are linked to the opposition party, the current administration is unwilling to let them
sell their asset out of fear that it will provide their political rivals with funding.

¶9. (C) Anadarko's representative also expressed concerns about their contract. In Ghana, as in many countries, he said that the government must approve the sale of an asset in
the oil sector. However, he believes that in Ghana the GOG will insist on the right to buy the asset being sold, even
though that is not specified in the contracts. Tullow echoed this sentiment. Anadarko added their concern that contracts from the previous administration will not be considered valid in this administration.

¶10. (C) Tullow brought up Norwegian company Akers SA, which was granted a Petroleum Agreement and shot about 2,500 km of 3D seismic images, a very expensive endeavor. Recently, the
Q3D seismic images, a very expensive endeavor. Recently, the Minister of Energy announced that he wanted to re-negotiate the license over a seemingly minor issue, and Akers is now suing. The Assistant Secretary said that these problems are very damaging to the reputation of Ghana, and will be
problematic both for U.S. companies and for the economic growth of Ghana.

¶11. (C) In his closing remarks, the Ambassador asked companies to keep the Embassy in the loop. He assured them we would be discreet if they need us to be, but said that it would help in the way we interact with the GOG if we know about their experiences.