Offshore staff
LONDON — Kistos Energy has a conditional agreement to acquire Mime Petroleum AS.
Oslo-based Mime is focused on development and production projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The company has a 10% interest in the Balder joint venture (the Balder and Ringhorne fields) and a 7.4% stake in the Ringhorne East unit, both in the North Sea and operated by Var Energi.
Mime’s net 2P reserves at Balder and Ringhorne were 23.6 MMboe at the end of 2022, with an additional 29.8 MMboe of net 2C resources related to upside in Balder and Ringhorne and the 2021 King oil discovery.
These would lift Kistos’ overall resources offshore northwest Europe to about 80 MMboe.
Mime’s share of production from Balder and Ringhorne should exceed 2,000 boe/d this year, rising steeply when the Balder X redevelopment project is onstream. Once the Jotun FPSO is back in operation, Kistos’ production could be more than 15,000 boe/d by 2025.
Balder X, comprising the Balder Future and Ringhorne Phase IV drilling projects, is designed to extend the life of the Balder Hub. The upgrades to the Jotun FPSO are said to be more than 70% complete with the vessel set to sail away from the yard in western Norway during the first half of 2024.
Kistos expects Mime to incur capex this year of up to $130 million. However, tax relief is available at a rate of 78%, and this should lead to a further large tax refund in December 2024.
Executive chairman Andrew Austin said, "After a period during which commodity price volatility and fiscal uncertainty has made it difficult to agree to deals in the UK and the Netherlands, I am very pleased to be able to announce Kistos’ expansion into Norway. Kistos has evaluated several transactions in the UK and Dutch sectors, but the imposition of punitive windfall taxes and a lack of fiscal certainty have meant that both countries remain difficult places to commit capital and ensure continuity of shareholder returns.”
04.19.2023
