Kosmos Losses Grow, Oil Revenues Blamed

US independent Kosmos Energy has reported a net 2Q 2016 loss of $108.3mn, 44% larger than its loss of $75.2mn in the same quarter last year, but its chief executive sought to reassure investors.

CEO Andrew G Inglis said: ““We are at an inflection point in the company’s history with production increasing and our capital requirements decreasing. Our Ghana asset continues to be a solid foundation for Kosmos, delivering near-term production and cash flow growth.”

“Kosmos is well positioned to deliver value from both our discovered gas resource offshore Mauritania and Senegal, as well as from new high-graded opportunities our team has identified,” he added, in the company's August 8 results statement.

Kosmos CEO Andrew G Inglis since 2014 was formerly BP's exploration chief until 2010 and since then Petrofac CEO (Photo credit: Kosmos Energy)

However, 2Q 2016 oil revenues were $46mn from one cargo, compared with $119mn in the same 2015 quarter from two cargoes. Production expenses were 65% higher at $33mn due to issues involving fixing a ship turret on the Tullow-operated Jubilee field in Ghana, while global exploration expenses were up 140% at $36mn chiefly due to drillrig Atwood Achiever’s busy and successful drilling campaign offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Teranga-1 off Senegal marked Kosmos’ 5th consecutive successful exploration and appraisal well in this fairway; it said in May this meant it has discovered a gross P-mean resource of approximately 25 trillion ft³, and it estimates the fairway holds more than 50 trillion ft³ of potential resources.

Mark Smedley