LNG

Kosmos Energy expects material growth in 2026 from expanded gas production both in Ghana and at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) floating LNG project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Kosmos Energy, the Dallas-based exploration and production company, posted a net fourth-quarter loss as it continued to make progress on the floating LNG export projects being developed with BP of the UK offshore Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa.

“The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project located offshore Mauritania and Senegal remains on track with Phase 1 approximately 25 percent complete,” stated Kosmos.

“Pre-FEED work is ongoing for Phases 2 and 3 and these phases are expected to expand capacity to almost 10 MTPA of LNG export capacity,” added the US company.

Kosmos said that for the final three months of 2019 its losses came to $35.7 million compared with a profit of $185.5M in the same three months of 2018.

Oil and gas revenues in the quarter came to $450M versus $301M in the 2018 quarter.

Annual oil and gas revenues amounted to $1.49 billion compared with $886.6M in 2018.

Kosmos said one highlight happened after the fourth quarter with the signing on the 11th of February 2020 with its partners, the state energy companies of Senegal and Mauritania, of a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with BP Gas Marketing for 2.45 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Phase 1 of the project for an initial term of up to 20 years.

“Signing the SPA has allowed Kosmos to book approximately 100 million barres of oil equivalent of proven reserves associated with the project,” said the US company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Kosmos announced during the fourth quarter that the Orca-1 exploration well made a major gas discovery offshore Mauritania in the Bir Allah area. 

The company noted that Orca was the largest deepwater hydrocarbon discovery in 2019 and the results continue the 100 percent success rate from nine wells targeting the inboard gas trend in Mauritania and Senegal.

“It was a strong year for Kosmos with the business generating approximately $250 million of free cash flow, the third successive year of material organic cash generation,” said Chief Executive Andrew G. Inglis. 

“It was also one of the most active years in the company’s history with over 1.7 million man hours operating five wells,” added the CEO.

“Our exploration and appraisal program delivered five successes from seven wells drilled and we continue to make excellent progress with our developments in Mauritania and Senegal with Tortue Phase 1,” stated Inglis.

Kosmos has other oil and gas operations offshore the US Gulf of Mexico, as well as Ghana and Equatorial Guinea in West Africa.

Excluding Mauritania and Senegal, the company said it expected to spend around $325M to $375M in 2020.

In Mauritania and Senegal, total 2020 capital expenditure for Kosmos will be about 30 percent working interest, or around $250M, and is expected to be funded from proceeds from the previously announced and ongoing farm-down process, whereby a stake is being sold by Kosmos.

Australian liquefied natural gas operator Woodside said it had submitted its plans for the Sangomar Field Development project offshore Senegal, the West African nation also participating in separate floating LNG projects led by BP of the UK.

Kosmos Energy, the Dallas-based company that made the natural gas discoveries to establish floating LNG export projects offshore Mauritania and Senegal, has announced a find in its home waters of the US Gulf of Mexico as it continues the sale process for parts of its African FLNG stakes.

The US Gulf oil find was in Gladden Deep, a sub-sea tie back which is expected to be brought online through the existing Gladden pipeline to the Medusa spar in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Kosmos said Gladden Deep was the first well of a four-well, infrastructure-led exploration program in the US Gulf for 2019.

“Kosmos will drill the Moneypenny prospect in the third quarter, followed by the Oldfield and Resolution prospects in the fourth quarter,” said Kosmos.

“These three prospects are collectively targeting around 100 million barrels of oil equivalent net to Kosmos,” it added.

Kosmos has an exploration program balanced between proven basin infrastructure-led exploration in Equatorial Guinea and the US Gulf while pushing forward with its Atlantic Margin activities in the emerging basins of Mauritania and Senegal in West Africa and in Suriname on the northeast coast of South America.

“Although Gladden Deep is the smallest prospect in this year’s drilling campaign, it is a prime example of our strategy in action, targeting high margin, high return barrels that can be quickly brought online through existing facilities,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Andy Inglis.

“This discovery continues the strong momentum we have seen in our Gulf of Mexico business unit, following the recent lease sale results and increased production from the Tornado-3 well coming online,” added Inglis.

The company is also exploring in frontier basins from Namibia in southwest Africa to the Ivory Coast in West Africa and offshore the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

Kosmos revealed its intention in May 2019 to sell down its position in Mauritania and Senegal to around 10 percent and the sale process had “generated significant industry interest”, with formal bids expected to be tabled in the third quarter of 2019.

Kosmos made the Mauritania and Senegal discoveries and in 2016 and agreed to sell BP of the UK around 60 percent of the licences, while BP also took over operatorship.

The US company retained around 30 percent of the Senegal fields and licence and about 28 percent of the project’s Mauritania holdings.

As of early May, all major contracts had been awarded for phase one of the West African FLNG project and construction had started on a floating production storage and offloading unit.

The first gas from the Kosmos-BP FLNG Train 1 is scheduled for 2021 and the start of the second FLNG Train is set for 2023.

Kosmos Energy, the US partner of BP in the Mauritania-Senegal floating LNG projects, has completed its acquisition for more than $1.22 billion of Deep Gulf Energy as it keeps faith in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico as other operators retreat to the US onshore shale basins.

Kosmos, based in Dallas, said it purchased Deep Gulf Energy to expand its assets in the Atlantic Margin exploration area of the most distant parts of the Gulf that can have similar deepwater challenges to offshore West Africa.

“By acquiring DGE, Kosmos adds to its deepwater Atlantic Margin portfolio an established business with attractive assets and a strong record of growing production and reserves through infrastructure-led exploration,” said Kosmos.

“This immediately accretive acquisition enhances the scale of the company and is expected to generate significant free cash flow,” added Kosmos.

Houston, Texas-based DGE was founded in 2005. The company has drilled 20 wells, 16 of which have been completed. The company achieved its first production in 2007 and the acquisition would add around 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production for Kosmos.

Kosmos notes that while many competitors have been leaving the Gulf of Mexico to pursue onshore shale plays, their departures have created an opportunity to further open up the Gulf.

“The best deepwater assets can compete with the best of shale, and now is a good time to enter the Gulf of Mexico,” said Kosmos.

The completion of the DGE deal comes as Kosmos and BP are moving forward with contract awards for the Tortue-Ahmeyim natural gas project in the Atlantic Margin of Mauritania and Senegal that will underpin several FLNG ventures.

The Tortue-Ahmeyim project will produce gas from a deepwater subsea system and transfer it to an FLNG production facility at a nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border.

The FLNG facility for Phase 1 is expected to deliver about 2.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG on average.

The full project will target 10 MTPA of LNG output as well as making gas available for domestic use in both Mauritania and Senegal.

First gas from the African project is expected in the first half of 2022.

Kosmos Energy, the US partner of BP in the Mauritania-Senegal floating LNG projects, reported a net profit in the fourth quarter compared with a loss in the year-ago period as it advanced with its FLNG plans and expanded its Africa-focused activities.

Dec 17 (LNGJ) - Golar LNG, the fleet owner and project developer, said it was advancing with a contract awarded by the Mauritania-Senegal joint venture partners, BP of the UK and Kosmos Energy of the US, for the provision of a floating liquefaction vessel to serve the Greater Tortue and Ahmeyim gas fields offshore West Africa. Golar said it had received a limited notice to proceed, furthering its previous preliminary agreement and heads of terms for the charter first announced in April 2018. The vessel conversion would take place at Keppel Shipyard after the Singapore yard’s delivery of FLNG hull, “Hilli Episeyo”, using liquefaction technology from Black and Veatch Corp. of the US. “Discussions regarding a minority investment in the vessel are also being progressed,” said Golar.

Kosmos Energy, the partner of BP in two floating LNG projects offshore Senegal and Mauritania, said the front-end engineering and design for phase one was almost completed and the development plan had been submitted to both governments.

Kosmos Energy, the US exploration and production company based in Dallas, said it was making more progress on developing multiple African liquefied natural gas production hubs offshore Senegal and Mauritania with UK partner BP and an investment decision was due soon.

May 14 (LNGJ) - Two LNG project stakeholders in West Africa, Ophir Energy of the UK and Kosmos Energy of Texas, will jointly develop an exploration and production licence offshore Equatorial Guinea. Ophir, a stakeholder in the Fortuna floating LNG venture with other companies offshore Equatorial Guinea, acquired its newest Block EG-24 exploration licence in nation’s 2017 bidding round. Kosmos, a joint venture partner with BP of the UK in two FLNG projects offshore Mauritania and Senegal, will acquire a 40 percent non-operated interest in Block EG-24 from Ophir. The deal includes Kosmos paying for the cost of a block-wide 3D seismic survey during the first exploration period of the licence. It will also partially carry Ophir for the cost of a well if one is drilled. “Kosmos is a logical partner for us in EG-24 as its team have considerable prior experience of the Rio Muni Basin,” said Nick Cooper, Ophir Chief Executive.