Kosmos Net Loss Widens in 4Q

US independent Kosmos Energy announced a net loss for 4Q2017 of $122.1mn, more than double its year-before $56.7mn net loss, but said it generated enough net cash to diversify its asset base.

Kosmos CEO Andrew Inglis said that the company delivered more than $300mn in net cash flow during full year 2017, acquired former Hess assets offshore Equatorial Guinea, and reduced its net debt.

Once adjusted for certain items, Kosmos’s 4Q2017 adjusted net loss was $37.9mn, versus an adjusted net loss of $5.6mn in 4Q2016.  It provided no update in its results of the shutdown for repairs of the Tullow-operated Jubilee oil and gas field production ship offshore Ghana, lasting a few weeks, but said work to rotate the vessel to its optimal heading to take place around end-2018 “with minimal impact to production in 2018.”

At the other offshore Ghana oil and gas field where it has an interest and which is also Tullow-operated, Kosmos said that “TEN development drilling is expected to resume imminently and the addition of new wells coming online.”

Of the BP-led floating Tortue LNG project offshore Senegal/Mauritania, which secured agreement to proceed from both governments two weeks ago, Kosmos said that “with this agreement in place, we expect a final investment decision for the Greater Tortue project around the end of 2018 and are aiming for first gas in late 2021” – so no change from its comments earlier this month. 

Kosmos's 4Q2017 oil revenues were $187.1mn, versus $156.1mn in the same quarter of 2016, on sales of 2.9mn bbls oil in 4Q2017 as compared to 3mn in the year-before quarter.