Kosmos Energy is acquiring Hess Corporation’s assets in Equatorial Guinea, the country’s Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons announced Monday. Dallas-based Kosmos Energy will acquire the majority ownership of two producing oil fields in the Rio Muni Basin — the Ceiba and Okume Fields — as part of the sale.
In addition to acquiring the producing assets, Kosmos Energy signed three production sharing contracts with the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea today for Blocks EG-21, S and W offshore Rio Muni. The new assets make Kosmos the biggest petroleum explorer by acreage in the country.
“We thank Hess for its years of service, for its input of technology, knowledge and financing, and above all for its careful stewardship of these important national resources,” said Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima in a statement.
“Now, Kosmos Energy brings a new sense of action and commitment to the Ceiba and Okume fields. We are delighted to welcome our new partners as investors and producers, as well as explorers in blocks S, W and EG-21 in the same region. This deal is nothing less than historic, and shifts focus towards the hugely promising Rio Muni basin.”
Hess began producing at the Ceiba field in 2000 and in the Okume complex in 2006, holding an 85 percent stake in the two producing areas. Once the sale is finalized by the end of 2017, Kosmos Energy will work with the block partners for further development. Tullow Oil holds a 15 percent stake, and GEPetrol with a 5 percent carried interest in the fields.
The PSCs for Blocks S, W and EG-21 are based on Equatorial Guinea’s model PSC, and stipulate minimum work programs that comprise a first exploratory period of three years, which include acquiring seismic data; a second exploratory period of two years, which includes drilling an exploratory well; and the possibility of two one-year extensions, which include requirements to conduct seismic interpretation and drill another exploration well, respectively.
