Kosmos Energy

The company continued to make gas discoveries in 2016 and 2017, including significant natural gas resources at the Teranga-1 exploration well offshore Senegal in 2016. In December 2016, Kosmos and BP entered a partnership in Mauritania and Senegal. BP acquired a 62% working interest, including operatorship, of Kosmos' exploration blocks in Mauritania and a 32.49% effective working interest in Kosmos' Senegal exploration blocks. In May 2017, the two companies made a major discovery off the coast of Senegal while drilling the Yakaar-1 exploration well.

Senegal and Mauritania signed a cooperation agreement to allow for Kosmos and BP to develop gas resources shared by the two counties in February 2018. BP and Kosmos made a final investment decision on the Tortue project in December 2018, leading to the first phase of the Tortue LNG development.

Kosmos Energy acquired Deep Gulf Energy, expanding Kosmos' oil and gas operations into the Gulf of Mexico, in August 2018. In December 2018, Kosmos was reincorporated in Delaware. Previously, it was incorporated in Bermuda.

Gulf of Mexico

Kosmos Energy entered the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in August 2018 when it acquired Deep Gulf Energy from First Reserve, a private equity firm, for $1.23 billion. Kosmos Energy paid $925 million in cash and $300 million in common stock to acquire DGE. As a result of the transaction, Kosmos Energy increased its daily production by more than 50% to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent; estimated reserves increased 40% to 280 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Mauritania and Senegal

Kosmos has operated in the Cayar and St. Louis blocks offshore Senegal. At the time of operation it held a 32.51% interest in each of the two exploration licenses.

In Mauritania, Kosmos has acreage in the C8 and C12 blocks which range in depth from 100 to 3,000 meters. C8 and C12 are located on the western margin of the Mauritania Salt Basin offshore Mauritania.

It made a significant gas discovery at its Tortue-1 well in Block C-8, offshore Mauritania, in April 2015. The well was drilled to test the Tortue West prospect, forming a part of the Greater Tortue complex. Its next discovery offshore came at Kosmos' Marsouin-1 exploration well, later renamed Bir Allah, in the northern part of Block C-8. With results from its Ahmeyim-2 appraisal well, Kosmos estimated the Tortue West contains 15 trillion cubic feet (420 billion cubic metres) of gas, and the Greater Tortue Complex contains more than 20 trillion cubic feet (570 billion cubic metres). Company officials said this discovery confirmed that the Tortue gas resource, which is also called Ahmeyim, straddles the maritime boundary between Senegal and Mauritania.

Kosmos and BP have a farm-out agreement over the joint gas discovery in Mauritania and Senegal, as well as future exploration. Under the deal, Kosmos focuses on exploration, while BP controls development and production operations. The two companies have discovered an estimated 15 trillion cubic feet (420 billion cubic metres) of gross Pmean gas resource at the Yakaar-1 exploration well. At the end of 2018, Kosmos Energy announced a final investment decision for phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG Project alongside BP.

The Greater Tortue Ahmeyin (GTA) natural gas field is being developed to produce gas from a deepwater system to a midwater floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO processes the gas for liquefaction and sends the gas via pipeline to a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility. The FLNG facility is located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border. As of September 2022, phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project was expected to begin production in 2023 with an estimated yield of approximately 2.5 million tons annually; a final investment decision had not been reached for phase 2. The GTA project will provide global export and provide gas availability for domestic use in Mauritania and Senegal.

Kosmos Energy confirmed gas resources at the Yakaar-2 appraisal well offshore Senegal. In October 2019, Kosmos made a major gas discovery at its Orca-1 exploration well offshore Mauritania. The company estimated the total gas available as 100 trillion cubic feet.

In October 2019, Kosmos made a major gas discovery at its Orca-1 exploration well offshore Mauritania. The company estimated the total gas available offshore Mauritania and Senega as 100 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Suriname

In Suriname, Kosmos operated in two exploration licensed areas. It held a 50% interest in Block 45 and a 33% interest in Block 42. In 2018, it abandoned two exploration wells, Anapai-1A in Block 45 and Pontoenoe-1 in Block 42, because the company failed to find hydrocarbons. Royal Dutch Shell acquired Kosmos Energy's offshore Suriname position in December 2020.

Morocco and Western Sahara

As operator, Kosmos held a 55% interest of the Boujdour Maritime block and 75% interest of the Essaouira block. In October 2013, Kosmos reached a farm-out deal with Cairn Energy subsidiary Capricorn Exploration & Development Company Ltd. Under the deal, Cairn took a 20% non-operated interest in Boujdour Maritime block.

The license of the Boujdour block was signed with the Moroccan state oil company ONHYM.

Kosmos announced in May 2014 it would plug and abandon its FA-1 well in the Foum Assaka Offshore block. While it did not find oil, the company said there was evidence of a working petroleum system and the well provided important seismic calibration details. These details were incorporated into the company's petroleum system analysis.

On March 2, 2015, Kosmos Energy said its CB-1 exploration well in Cap Boujdour made a small discovery. The discovery was noncommercial, and the well was plugged and abandoned in February 2018.

Other African countries

Kosmos had ownership interests in six blocks offshore Sao Tome and Principe, including two blocks where Kosmos partnered with BP. In 2018, Kosmos announced it would explore a number of blocks offshore with Royal Dutch Shell. Shell purchased five of the Kosmos blocks in 2020. As of 2022 Kosmos continues to have an interest in Block 5 in Sao Tome.

With Galp, Kosmos ordered a 3D seismic survey of a large stretch of ocean floor. According to The Wall Street Journal, the survey was "one of the biggest offshore oil exploration efforts of its kind in the region". The survey was completed on August 20, 2017.

Kosmos Energy had an offshore license in Congo-Brazzaville for the Marine XXI block, which covered more than 2,300 square km. The company signed a production sharing agreement with Congo-Brazzaville and the Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo. Kosmos terminated the contract in February 2020.

In 2018, Kosmos Energy partnered with Royal Dutch Shell to explore blocks offshore Namibia. In September 2020, Shell entered into an agreement to farm down Kosmos' portfolio of frontier exploration assets.