Source: Bloomberg

Emirates National Oil Co. denied a senior Ghanaian official’s claim that the company is in talks about supplying the West African nation with fuel in return for gold.

“This is totally baseless and incorrect,” an ENOC person said to Bloomberg on Tuesday. “There have been no discussions regarding this subject.”

Ghana’s government reached a “tentative” agreement with the Dubai-based oil firm, Kabiru Mahama, an economic adviser to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, said on Friday.

Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, last week ordered large mining companies to sell 20% of the metal they refine to the central bank from Jan. 1. It’s trying to build up reserves of bullion to be used to import fuel and reduce demand for dollars after a currency plunge of 57% this year.

“We’re open to any international oil-trading company that is interested,” Mahama had said in a phone interview. “Starting next October, all our oil-product needs would be swapped for gold.”