Kistos plc ("Kistos" or the "Company") Completion of Greater Laggan Area Acquisition
Monday 11 July 2022
Kistos plc (AIM: KIST), the low carbon intensity gas producer pursuing energy opportunities in line with the energy transition, is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of a 20% interest in the Greater Laggan Area ("GLA") producing gas fields and associated infrastructure alongside various interests in certain other exploration licences, including a 25% interest in the Benriach prospect, from TotalEnergies S.E. ("TotalEnergies") (the "Acquisition"). The effective date of the Acquisition is 1 January 2022.
Completion of the Acquisition marks Kistos' entry into the United Kingdom Continental Shelf ("UKCS"), adding about 6,000 boe/d (net) to Kistos' production in 2022, with 2P reserves increasing by 6.2 MMboe. This substantially increases Kistos' total production base to approximately 12,000 boe/d.
Further details of the Acquisition:
· Kistos has acquired a 20% working interest in the producing Laggan, Tormore, Edradour, and Glenlivet gas fields, located offshore the UK, West of Shetland.
· The Acquisition includes a 20% interest in the undeveloped Glendronach gas field. The Glendronach field was discovered in 2018 and it is anticipated that the development will utilise existing infrastructure and a final investment decision is expected later this year.
· The Acquisition also includes a 25% interest in block 206/4a, which contains the 638 Bcf (operator's P50 resource estimate) Benriach prospect.
· Emissions from GLA production operations are forecast by Kistos to be approximately 13 kg CO2e/boe in 2022, which is significantly below the North Sea average of 22 kg CO2e/boe (as estimated in the NSTA's "UKCS natural gas carbon footprint analysis" of 26 May 2020).
Glendronach will be developed via a single production well. The net cost of the project is estimated to be approximately £20 million and Kistos' share of this expenditure is expected to be subject to the super deduction in the UK's Energy Profits Levy.
The terms of the transaction are as per the RNS of 31st January 2022, with the acquisition being financed out of cash resources.
Andrew Austin, Executive Chairman of Kistos, said:
"We look forward to working with TotalEnergies and our partners within the GLA. The addition of the GLA interest to our portfolio is an important step towards expanding and diversifying our producing asset base in one of the largest gas hubs in the UK. In addition to the immediate significant increase in our daily production, these assets also offer investors significant upside potential from the Glendronach development project and the highly prospective Benriach exploration target. Progression of these two projects is expected to meet the investment criteria for the UK's recently implemented Energy Profits Levy."