MODEC finds no evidence of corruption in Ghana oil deal

MODEC, the Japanese company now under investigation for bribery in Ghana’s nascent oil sector says it has found “no evidence of any violation” in its role in the joint venture, the Wall Street Journal reports citing a statement from the company.

MODEC, is a Japanese company that owns the floating production and storage offloading (FPSO) vessel used for oil production at the country’s largest oil field, Jubilee.

The company has been cited in documents that Kosmos Energy filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission January 13 as being investigated for corruption.

In the documents, Kosmos said partners in the field as well as the International Finance Corp. (IFC), part of the World Bank, “are working with MODEC and its legal advisors to investigate” some “potential violations by [the contractor] under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.”

Kosmos added that financing for the FPSO vessel–worth $875 million–used by MODEC had been suspended pending the investigation. It also said as a result of the investigations, costs on the field might go up, saying partners in the Jubilee field may be required to contribute further funds as a result.

But MODEC said in the statement, “This investigation has found no evidence of any violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or any other applicable jurisdiction’s anti-bribery laws in relation to its arrangement.”

Commercial production of oil started in Ghana December 15, 2010, and as a result of this investigation, a $225 million political insurance risk from the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank has been suspended, MIGA has said on its website in July 2010.


Source: ghanabusinessnews.com