Jubilee operator, Tullow Oil, which was supposed to begin the process of listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), has postponed the exercise to this year.

The company took the decision as it realised it was unlikely to secure in good time, the necessary approvals from the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company plans to offload some GH¢100 million (US$70 million) worth of its shares onto the GSE. If the company succeeds in getting its shares traded on the local bourse, it would be the biggest ever on the GSE, even though it is a mere fraction of the UK-listed company.

Tullow Oil officials say the listing was a gesture to affirm that the company was in Ghana for the long haul. Tullow had hoped its listing on the local bourse would coincide with the start of the commercial production of Ghana’s first oil, which was inaugurated on December 15, 2010.