Big international energy groups and state-owned oil companies from China and India are circling Kosmos Energy for its Ghanaian oilfield assets, which have been valued at $3bn-$6bn by analysts.

The sale of Kosmos, a small exploration company financially backed by Warburg Pincus and Blackstone, is one of the industry’s most closely watched deals. It will influence the future of companies such as UK-listed Tullow and Anadarko of the US, and could open an oil corridor off the west African coast, stretching as far north-west as Sierra Leone.