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Kosmos Energy Third Quarter 2020 Results

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   |    Tuesday,November 10,2020

Kosmos Energy Ltd. reported the financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2020.

For the quarter, the Company generated a net loss of $37 million, or $0.09 per diluted share. When adjusted for certain items that impact the comparability of results, the Company generated an adjusted net loss of $50 million or $0.12 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2020.

Q3 2020 Highlights:

• Net Production - 56,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) with sales of 59,500 boepd
• Revenues - $225 million, or $41.05 per boe
• Production expense - $84 million, or $15.39 per boe
• General and administrative expenses - $18 million, $9 million cash expense and $9 million non-cash equity-based compensation expense
• Capital expenditures:
  • $53 million Base Business capital expenditures
  • $47 million Mauritania and Senegal accrued non-cash capital expenditures

At quarter end, the Company was in a net underlift position of approximately 0.8 million barrels of oil.

Commenting on the company's 3Q 2020 performance, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew G. Inglis said: "Kosmos delivered robust operational performance in the third quarter, despite elevated storm activity driving temporary shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico. Production in Ghana and Equatorial Guinea was in line with expectations, with the reliability improvements seen in the first half of the year continuing into the second half. With the impact of COVID-19 and one of the worst storm seasons on record in the Gulf of Mexico, full year production is expected to come in at 61,000 - 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

"In Mauritania and Senegal, the partnership continues to make good progress with Phase 1 of the Tortue project expected to be around 50% complete by year end. The operator has put significant effort into optimizing Phase 2, which we believe is now the most competitive brownfield LNG expansion globally. With the prospect of enhanced future returns, now is not the optimal time to reduce our interest in the project and we have established a financing path which funds Kosmos' capital obligations to first gas. This enables Kosmos to retain its current equity stake through to production. With lower costs and an improving LNG market backdrop, the Tortue project is expected to provide an excellent return on investment for Kosmos.

"With the recently announced Gulf of Mexico financing facility and frontier exploration asset sale to Shell, we have taken additional steps to bolster the balance sheet and have ample liquidity to navigate the current period of low and volatile commodity prices."

Financial Update

In September 2020, the Company closed a five-year $200 million Gulf of Mexico term loan with Beal Bank USA and Trafigura Trading LLC, restructuring the previously announced Gulf of Mexico prepayment facility. The agreement includes an accordion feature allowing the term loan to be expanded up to $300 million.

In October 2020, the Company successfully completed its reserve based lending (RBL) re-determination, agreeing with its bank group a borrowing base of $1.32 billion. Following the completion of the Gulf of Mexico term loan and the RBL re-determination, the company had approximately $0.5 billion of available liquidity.

Third quarter cash flow improved by over $100 million versus the second quarter due to higher realized prices, lower costs and a benefit in working capital, offset by the impact of the elevated storms in the Gulf of Mexico. Looking forward to the fourth quarter, with continued reduction in costs, high reliability in Ghana and Equatorial Guinea and improved uptime in the Gulf of Mexico, we expect positive free cash flow from the base business, enhanced by the proceeds from the Shell transaction.

Kosmos exited the third quarter of 2020 with approximately $2.1 billion of net debt. Net debt slightly increased in the third quarter, largely driven by a recategorization of the Gulf of Mexico prepayment facility as debt post restructuring.

Our base business net capital expenditure for 2020 is expected to be approximately $140-$150 million and includes the impact of the Shell proceeds, partially offset by the Winterfell infrastructure-led exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico (formerly Monarch) and the acceleration of the Kodiak completion into the fourth quarter (~$20 million).

Ops Update

COVID-19 Update

Kosmos' response to the COVID-19 pandemic remains focused on safe and reliable operations by protecting the health of our employees and contractors, reducing the risk of the virus spreading in our operations, and minimizing the impact on our business. We are also working with local communities in our host countries to fight transmission of the virus.

Production

Total net production in the third quarter of 2020 averaged approximately 56,700 boepd⁽²⁾, slightly lower than previous guidance due to the elevated storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico with 2020 being one of the most active years for tropical storms on record. With the impact of COVID-19 and the Gulf of Mexico storms, full year net production is expected to be in the range of 61,000 to 62,000 boepd.

Ghana

Production in Ghana continued to be unaffected by COVID-19 and averaged approximately 28,100 barrels of oil per day (bopd) net in the third quarter of 2020, in line with guidance. As forecasted, Kosmos lifted three cargos from Ghana during the third quarter.

Jubilee continues to perform well with high reliability. Gross production rates averaged approximately 87,700 bopd during the quarter with FPSO uptime of around 98%. TEN production averaged approximately 49,600 bopd gross for the third quarter with FPSO uptime of 98%.

Full year guidance of ten cargos is unchanged.

U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico averaged approximately 17,500 boepd net (80% oil) during the third quarter, including the impact of 17 days of production shut-ins during the quarter due to the impact of increased tropical storm activity, which caused the shutdown of platforms and infrastructure with personnel evacuated.

During the quarter, the Tornado-4 water injection well came online and initial results have been positive, with the injection providing pressure support to the producing updip wells. Management also took the decision to accelerate the Kodiak completion, which will commence in the fourth quarter. The Winterfell infrastructure-led exploration well (previously named Monarch) is expected to spud this quarter with results early next year.

Equatorial Guinea

Production in Equatorial Guinea continued to be unaffected by COVID-19 and averaged approximately 33,000 bopd gross and 11,100 bopd net in the third quarter of 2020. Kosmos lifted 1 cargo from Equatorial Guinea during the quarter. Full year guidance of 4.5 cargos is unchanged.

Mauritania & Senegal

Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project continued to make good progress in the quarter and is expected to be around 50% complete by year end. Throughout 2020, Kosmos has collaborated with operator BP and the national oil companies of Mauritania and Senegal on the optimization of Phase 2. By targeting expansion to 5 million tonnes per annum and leveraging all the major infrastructure from Phase 1, capital costs for Phase 2 have been reduced and the expected returns from the project enhanced.

To fund its current interest, Kosmos has established a financing path for its capital obligations to first gas. Kosmos and BP are engaged in the sale of the FPSO to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which we plan to close in the first quarter of 2021 for the capital costs paid so far, which total approximately $160 million net, and the FPSO leased back to the project. The SPV is expected to take on the future capital obligations for the FPSO, meaning Kosmos' future obligations are reduced by a further $160 million. In addition, Kosmos intends to re-finance the national oil company loans with commercial banks in 2021, which should result in a reimbursement of an additional $100 million to Kosmos. The funds provided from these two activities are expected to fund Kosmos' capital obligations in Mauritania and Senegal through 2021. The outstanding capital balance for Phase 1 is planned to be funded by a direct investment in Kosmos' Mauritania and Senegal position with Phase 2 largely funded through Phase 1 cash flows. Kosmos plans to secure this financing by the middle of 2021.

Climate Risk and Resilience Report

As part of our commitment to strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance, and in accordance with our Climate Change Policy, Kosmos recently published a Climate Risk and Resilience Report that adheres to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The report discusses how we are identifying and managing climate-related risks and opportunities across four categories: Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets. In addition, the report includes a commitment to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon neutrality by 2030 or sooner, a full scenario analysis demonstrating the resilience of our portfolio, and a description of innovative nature-based carbon capture projects used to mitigate emissions that cannot be eliminated.