(PFC.L) Petrofac Ltd Buy/Sell

The Times

BP POISED TO BATTLE US RIVAL EXXONMOBIL FOR GHANA OIL

BP has held talks with Ghana National Petroleum over a possible joint bid for a stake in the Jubilee deepwater field in Ghana, which reportedly contains up to 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The oil group has hired the investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise on a possible bid for a 23 per cent stake in the offshore oil field held by the private equity-backed energy company Kosmos Energy.

Kosmos unveiled plans on October 12 to sell all of its Ghana assets to BP's rival Exxon. BP could face problems in completing the deal as Exxon's agreement to buy the assets is believed to be exclusive.

VIRGIN WON'T TAKE COPYING LYING DOWN

Virgin Atlantic has had a patent application upheld in a High Court Appeal judgement and could now block other airlines from using copies of its Upper-Class seat design.

The herringbone shaped seat, introduced in 2003, was designed by Welsh seat manufacturer Contour, which subsequently sold seats to airlines including Delta, Air Canada and Jet Airways.

Cathay Pacific is facing legal action after buying a similar seat from another manufacturer. Paul Charles, a spokesman for Virgin, said: "It has always been and will remain, a key strategic objective of Virgin Atlantic to protect its intellectual property rights from misuse."

BEIJING MUST 'PLAY WITH THE BIG BOYS', SAYS BHP CHAIRMAN

Don Argus, the outgoing chairman of BHP Billiton, has admitted that the mining group's relations with China, its biggest customer, have at times been strained.

Argus urged China to 'get over' any hostility regarding a proposed 116 billion dollar iron ore joint venture between BHP and its rival Rio Tinto. China is said to oppose the deal, announced in June, as it could undermine the country's position in negotiations over the price of iron ore.

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