History
Kosmos grew from a West Africa explorer into a Gulf of Mexico and Ghana producer, funded by layered debt, then sold out of Equatorial Guinea by 2026.
2013-2016: Drilling rigs and borrowing
The record begins with Kosmos focused on exploring offshore West Africa. In June 2013 it locked in a new deepwater drillship from Atwood Oceanics for an initial three years at roughly $595,000 a day, starting in mid-2014. In March 2014 it refinanced its bank facilities, lifting borrowing capacity from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion and extending maturity to 2021. In August it added a $300 million bond, 7.875% senior secured notes due 2021.
As oil prices slid, Kosmos added a further $225 million to those notes in April 2015, taking them to $525 million, to shore up liquidity. Shares on issue barely moved over these years, drifting from about 389.9 million at the end of 2011 to about 385.1 million at the end of 2015.
In December 2016 Kosmos farmed out interests in its Mauritania and Senegal blocks to BP. BP took a 62% interest in Mauritania and 32.49% effective in Senegal, plus operatorship. Kosmos was to receive $162 million in cash up front, plus carries of $221 million for exploration and $533 million for development. This brought BP in as partner on what became the Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim gas project.
2017-2018: New regions, and a bigger company
In January 2017 Tullow, operator of the Ghana fields, reported Jubilee averaged 73,700 barrels a day in 2016, with insurance-covered repairs to the floating production vessel's turret continuing. The new TEN project had started but was expected to produce only about 50,000 barrels a day in 2017, because of reservoir-pressure problems and a drilling freeze pending a maritime border ruling.
In October 2017 Kosmos and Trident Energy agreed to buy Hess's 80.75% stake in Block G offshore Equatorial Guinea for $650 million, about $240 million of it Kosmos's share, leaving each with 40.375%. In February 2018 Kosmos refinanced its commercial debt facility again, raising capacity from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion and extending maturity to 2025.
The biggest step came in August 2018, when Kosmos agreed to buy Deep Gulf Energy, a deepwater Gulf of Mexico producer, for $1.225 billion. It closed in September for roughly $953 million in cash plus about 35 million new Kosmos shares issued to First Reserve. Shares on issue stood at about 433.6 million at the end of 2018.
In November, Warburg Pincus sold 17.25 million shares to the public and Kosmos bought back 35 million shares directly from Warburg at the same price, its largest reduction yet of sponsor overhang. On 28 December Kosmos re-incorporated from Bermuda to Delaware and moved its headquarters to Dallas, keeping its listings and ticker.
2019-2021: Pandemic stress and the Ghana deal
In April 2019 Kosmos issued $650 million of 7.125% senior notes due 2026. In February 2020 it and its partners signed a 10-year contract for BP to buy about 2.45 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas from Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim.
The oil-price crash then hit. In April 2020 the NYSE warned that Kosmos's shares, trading below $1, risked delisting. Kosmos had until December 2020 to recover and was considering a reverse stock split. In July it raised up to $200 million by pre-selling Gulf of Mexico crude to Trafigura. In September it agreed to sell its exploration acreage in Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Suriname and South Africa to Shell for $96 million upfront plus up to $100 million more if exploration paid off. In October it converted the Trafigura deal into a $200 million secured term loan at around a 6% margin, with a Beal Bank affiliate also lending.
As prices recovered, Kosmos issued $450 million of 7.5% notes due 2028 in March 2021. In October it bought Occidental's Anadarko WCTP subsidiary for $550.6 million, lifting its Jubilee stake from 24.1% to 42.1% and TEN from 17.0% to 28.1%. It funded the purchase with $400 million of short-term bridge notes plus a facility draw, then refinanced the bridge notes within weeks with $400 million of 7.75% notes due 2027.
2022-2026: Tidying debt and leaving Equatorial Guinea
The record for 2022 is quiet. In September 2023 Kosmos repaid the last $137.5 million of the Gulf of Mexico term loan from cash, ending the crisis-era financing.
2024 brought more refinancing. In March Kosmos sold $400 million of 3.125% convertible notes due 2030, convertible at about $7.02 a share, with cash paid up to the principal and any new shares covering only the excess. Capped call transactions were entered at the same time, but their terms are not described in the record. In April the main bank facility grew to $1.35 billion from $1.25 billion and was extended to 2029. In September Kosmos issued $500 million of 8.75% notes due 2031.
In November 2024 the Akeng Deep exploration well off Equatorial Guinea was dry, though the Ceiba and Okume infill wells came online successfully, with Ceiba outperforming expectations. In September 2025 Kosmos arranged a secured term loan of up to $250 million from Shell's trading arm, using $150 million to redeem part of its 2026 notes early at a much lower interest cost.
In February 2026 Kosmos agreed to sell all its Equatorial Guinea assets to Panoro Energy for $180 million plus up to $39.5 million more. The sale closed on 22 June 2026 for a final $127 million, reduced for interim cash already collected, plus the same contingent payments. That ended Kosmos's presence in the country less than nine years after it entered.
Written from the 29 story beats below (2013 to 22 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.