Kosmos Energy LLC said Wednesday it has called off the sale of its Ghana oil assets to Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), dealing a blow to the U.S. oil major's drive to tap a major new oil region in West Africa .

Closely-held Kosmos said it was now focused on developing the huge Jubilee oil field and appraising new offshore discoveries with partners such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) and Tullow Oil PLC (TLW.LN).

Kosmos--majority owned by private equity groups Blackstone Group LP (BX) and Warburg Pincus LLC--had put its 30.875% stake in the West Cape Three Points block up for sale last year. In October, it unveiled a deal to sell the asset and an 18% stake in the Deepwater Tano block to Exxon for an estimated $4 billion.

However, the deal with Exxon provoked protests from the Ghanaian government, which subsequently said it had the right to cancel the contract.

The government accused Kosmos of cutting Ghana 's state-run oil company out of discussions about the field's development and then sharing information about the field with potential buyers without state permission.

People familiar with the situation said Chinese oil companies were interested in buying the Kosmos stake should the Exxon deal collapse, and working with state-run Ghana National Petroleum Corp.

"First oil from the Jubilee Field phase one development is fast approaching," Kosmos Energy CEO Brian Maxted said in a statement.

"Moreover, we are very encouraged by our recent exploration results, other discoveries we are appraising, and additional developments being planned. We will continue to work with our block partners and the government of Ghana to develop these resources that we believe offer multiple near-term opportunities to significantly enhance the value of these world-class assets," Maxted said.

The deal's collapse is a setback to Exxon's efforts to expand its position in West Africa .

Geologists say they have found similar structures to the Jubilee field beneath coastal waters stretching more than 1,000 km to the west, beyond Ghana to Ivory Coast , Liberia and Sierra Leone .

On July 1, Tullow Oil, which is the operator of the Jubilee field, said production would begin in November or December, adding that output would reach 120,000 barrels a day within six months.

The total reserve potential of Jubilee is 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Last month, Tullow said it had found the Owo oil field in the Deepwater Tano block, potentially adding 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent to the resource estimate for the area.

"Our focus is to ensure that Kosmos is well-positioned operationally and financially to fulfill its roles as operator of the West Cape Three Points Block, technical operator for development of the Jubilee Field, and partner in the Deepwater Tano Block," Maxted said.

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