Kosmos Energy gets new Chief Operating Officer

Accra, Dec 16, GNA - Kosmos Energy on Friday announced that Mr Darrell McKenna has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the company with effect from January 3, next year.

A statement by Kosmos Energy , copied to GNA, said Mr McKenna will be responsible for the Company’s global drilling, development, and production functions, as well as Kosmos’ health, environment, and safety programs.

It said prior to joining Kosmos Energy, Mr McKenna held the position of President of Hess Australia for Hess Corporation.

The statement said Mr McKenna also served as Vice President of multiple functions at Hess Corporation, including Global Drilling and Completions, Exploration and Production Technology, as well as the Africa Business Unit.

It said before joining Hess, Mr McKenna held multiple roles of increasing responsibility within the oil and gas industry, including 18 years with Mobil Oil Corporation.

The statement said he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Montana School of Mineral Science and Technology.

“We are very fortunate to have Darrell join the Kosmos team. With over 30 years of energy and leadership experience, Darrell brings a very strong production and operational background to Kosmos Energy, including significant international and West Africa-specific expertise.

“We have significantly enhanced our capacity as an organization by adding Darrell, which will prove beneficial as we move forward with plans to significantly grow our existing production and discover new petroleum systems over the next few years,” said Brian F. Maxted, President and Chief Executive Officer, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Kosmos Energy said it has executed two Production Sharing Contracts with Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V., the national oil company of Suriname, for Blocks offshore Suriname .

It said the addition of the acreage is a significant expansion of the Company’s exploration portfolio and represents Kosmos’ first acreage acquisition outside of West Africa.

The statement said the two blocks cover an area of nearly 3 million gross acres, in water depths of between 650 and 8,500 feet. Block 42 is an area of over 1.5 million acres and block 45 is approximately 1.3 million acres.

It said “Kosmos will be operator of both blocks with a 100 percent working interest. Neither of the blocks has previously been drilled. In the initial exploration phase under each of the contracts, Kosmos plans to acquire 3D seismic data. The Company targets first drilling as early as 2014.

The statement said the company has entered into a Reconnaissance Contract for the Tarhazoute Block offshore the Kingdom of Morocco.

It said: “Covering 1.9 million gross acres in water depths of between 3,250 and 8,200 feet, the Tarhazoute Block is located offshore in the Agadir basin immediately between the Company’s Essaouira and Foum Assaka Blocks. Kosmos will be the operator of the Tarhazoute Block with a 100 percent working interest.

The Reconnaissance Contract has a one-year term, after which the Company has the right to enter into a petroleum agreement for the acreage.”

The statement said Kosmos will initially reprocess existing 2D seismic and that Brian F. Maxted, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “With our executed agreement over the Tarhazoute area, we have now licensed the large majority of the Agadir basin petroleum system and our 3D seismic acquisition program is underway, beginning in the Essaouira Block.”