Kosmos Energy (KOS) Risk Analysis

Oil and natural gas exploration and production activities involve many risks that a combination of experience, knowledge and interpretation may not be able to overcome. Our future will depend on the success of our exploration and production activities and on the development of infrastructure that will allow us to take advantage of our discoveries. Additionally, many of our license areas are located in deepwater, which generally increases the capital and operating costs, chances of delay, planning time, technical challenges and risks associated with oil and natural gas exploration and production activities. See "- Our offshore and deepwater operations involve special risks that could adversely affect our results of operation." As a result, our oil and natural gas exploration and production activities are subject to numerous risks, including the risk that drilling will not result in commercially viable oil and natural gas production. Our decisions to purchase, explore or develop discoveries, prospects or licenses will depend in part on the evaluation of seismic data through geophysical and geological analyses, production data and engineering studies, the results of which are often inconclusive or subject to varying interpretations. Furthermore, the marketability of expected oil and natural gas production from our discoveries and prospects will also be affected by numerous factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, market fluctuations of prices (such as recent significant variations in oil, natural gas and LNG prices), proximity, capacity and availability of drilling rigs and related equipment, qualified personnel and support vessels, processing facilities, transportation vehicles and pipelines, equipment availability, access to markets and government regulations (including, without limitation, regulations relating to prices, taxes, royalties, allowable production, domestic supply requirements, importing and exporting of oil and natural gas, the ability to flare or vent natural gas, health and safety matters, environmental protection and climate change). The effect of these factors, individually or jointly, may result in us not receiving an adequate return on invested capital. In the event that our currently undeveloped discoveries and prospects are developed and become operational, they may not produce oil and natural gas in commercial quantities or at the costs anticipated, and our projects may cease production, in part or entirely, in certain circumstances. Discoveries may become uneconomic as a result of an increase in operating costs to produce oil and natural gas, among other factors. Our actual operating costs and rates of production may differ materially from our current estimates. Moreover, it is possible that other developments, such as increasingly strict environmental, climate change, and health and safety laws, regulations and executive orders and enforcement policies thereunder and claims for damages to property or persons resulting from our operations, could result in substantial costs and liabilities, delays, an inability to complete the development of our discoveries or the abandonment of such discoveries, which could cause a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The oil and natural gas business involves a variety of risks, including, but not limited to: - fires, blowouts, spills, cratering and explosions;- mechanical and equipment problems, including unforeseen engineering complications;- uncontrolled flows or leaks of oil, well fluids, natural gas, brine, toxic gas or other pollutants or hazardous materials;- gas flaring operations;- marine hazards with respect to offshore operations;- formations with abnormal pressures;- pollution, environmental risks, and geological problems; and - weather conditions and natural or man-made disasters. These risks are particularly acute in deepwater drilling, exploration, and development. Any of these events could result in loss of human life, significant damage to property, environmental or natural resource damage, impairment, delay or cessation of our operations, lower production rates, adverse publicity, substantial losses and civil or criminal liability. We expect to maintain insurance against some, but not all, of these risks and losses. The occurrence of any of these events, whether or not covered by insurance, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

As we carry out our exploration and development programs, we have arrangements with respect to existing license areas and may have agreements with respect to future license areas that result in a greater proportion of our license areas being operated by others. Currently, we are not the operator of the Jubilee Unit, the TEN Fields, the Ceiba Field and Okume Complex, the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Unit or certain producing fields in the Gulf of America and do not hold operatorship in certain other offshore blocks. As a result, we may have limited ability to exercise influence over the operations of the discoveries or prospects operated by our block or unit partners, or which are not wholly-owned by us, as the case may be. Dependence on block or unit partners could prevent us from realizing our target returns for those discoveries or prospects. Further, because we do not have majority ownership in all of our properties, we may not be able to control the timing, or the scope, of exploration or development activities or the amount of capital expenditures and, therefore, may not be able to carry out one of our key business strategies of minimizing the cycle time between discovery and initial production. The success and timing of exploration and development activities will depend on a number of factors that will be largely outside of our control, including: - the timing and amount of capital expenditures;- if the activity is operated by one of our block partners, the operator's expertise and financial resources;- approval of other block partners in drilling wells;- the scheduling, pre-design, planning, design and approvals of activities and processes;- selection of technology;- the available capacity of processing facilities and related pipelines; and - the rate of production of reserves, if any. This limited ability to exercise control over the operations on our license areas may cause a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Historically, some oil and natural gas development projects have experienced delays and capital cost increases and overruns due to, among other factors, the unavailability or high cost of drilling rigs and other essential equipment, supplies, personnel and oilfield services, mechanical and technical issues, as well as weather-related delays. The cost to develop our projects has not been fixed and remains dependent upon a number of factors, including the completion of detailed cost estimates and final engineering, contracting and procurement costs. Our construction and operation schedules may not proceed as planned and may experience delays or cost overruns. Any delays may increase the costs of the projects, requiring additional capital, and such capital may not be available in a timely and cost-effective fashion.

Offshore operations are subject to a variety of special operating risks specific to the marine environment, such as capsizing, sinking, collisions and damage or loss to pipeline, subsea or other facilities or from weather conditions. We could incur substantial expenses that could reduce or eliminate the funds available for exploration, development or license acquisitions, or result in loss of equipment and license interests. Deepwater exploration generally involves greater operational and financial risks than exploration in shallower waters. Deepwater drilling generally requires more time and more advanced drilling technologies, involving a higher risk of equipment failure and usually higher drilling costs. In addition, there may be production risks of which we are currently unaware. If we participate in the development of new subsea infrastructure and use floating production systems to transport oil from producing wells, these operations may require substantial time for installation or encounter mechanical difficulties and equipment failures that could result in loss of production, significant liabilities, cost overruns or delays. For example, we have previously experienced mechanical issues at certain of our offshore production facilities, such as the turret bearing issue on the Jubilee FPSO. The equipment downtime caused by these mechanical issues negatively impacted oil production. Furthermore, deepwater operations generally, and operations in Africa, in particular, lack the physical and oilfield service infrastructure present in other regions. As a result, a significant amount of time may elapse between a deepwater discovery and the marketing of the associated oil and natural gas, increasing both the financial and operational risks involved with these operations. Because of the lack and high cost of this infrastructure, further discoveries we may make in Africa may never be economically producible. In addition, in the event of a well control incident, containment and, potentially, cleanup activities for offshore drilling are costly. The resulting regulatory costs or penalties, and the results of third-party lawsuits, as well as associated legal and support expenses, including costs to address negative publicity, could well exceed the actual costs of containment and cleanup. As a result, a well control incident could result in substantial liabilities, and have a significant negative impact on our earnings, cash flows, liquidity, financial position, and stock price.

Exploring for and developing hydrocarbon reserves involves a high degree of technical, operational and financial risk, which precludes definitive statements as to the time required and costs involved in reaching certain objectives. The budgeted costs of planning, drilling, completing and operating wells are often exceeded and can increase significantly when drilling costs rise due to rising inflationary pressure, a tightening in the supply of various types of oilfield equipment and related services or unanticipated geologic conditions or operational challenges. Before a well is spud, we incur significant geological and geophysical (seismic) costs, which are incurred whether or not a well eventually produces commercial quantities of hydrocarbons or is drilled at all. Drilling may be unsuccessful for many reasons, including geologic conditions, weather, cost overruns, equipment shortages and mechanical difficulties or force majeure events. Exploratory wells bear a much greater risk of failure than development wells. In the past we have experienced unsuccessful drilling efforts, having drilled dry holes. Furthermore, the successful drilling of a well does not necessarily result in the commercially viable development of a field or be indicative of the potential for the development of a commercially viable field. A variety of factors, including geologic and market-related, can cause a field to become uneconomic or only marginally economic. A lack of drilling opportunities or projects that cease production may cause us to incur significant costs associated with an idle rig and/or related services, particularly if we cannot contract out rig slots to other parties. Many of our prospects that may be developed require significant additional exploration, appraisal and development, regulatory approval and commitments of resources prior to commercial development. In addition, a successful discovery would require significant capital expenditure in order to appraise, develop and produce oil and natural gas, even if we deemed such discovery to be commercially viable. See "-Our business plan requires substantial additional capital, which we may be unable to raise on acceptable terms or at all in the future, which may in turn limit our ability to develop our exploration, appraisal, development and production activities." In the international areas in which we operate, we face higher above-ground risks necessitating higher expected returns, the requirement for increased capital expenditures due to a general lack of infrastructure and underdeveloped oil and gas industries, and increased transportation expenses due to geographic remoteness, which either require a single well to be exceptionally productive, or the existence of multiple successful wells, to allow for the development of a commercially viable field. See "-Our business, operations and financial condition may be directly and indirectly adversely affected by political, economic, and environmental circumstances, and changes in laws and regulations, in the countries and regions in which we operate." Furthermore, if our actual drilling and development costs are significantly more than our estimated costs, we may not be able to continue our business operations as proposed and could be forced to modify our plan of operation.

Our exploration success has provided us with major development and appraisal projects on which we are moving forward, and any future exploration discoveries will also require significant development efforts to bring to production. We must successfully execute our development projects, including development drilling, in order to generate future production and cash flow. However, development drilling is not always successful and the profitability of development projects may change over time. For example, in new development projects available data may not allow us to completely know the extent of the reservoir or choose the best locations for drilling development wells. A development well we drill may be a dry hole or result in noncommercial quantities of hydrocarbons. All costs of development drilling and other development activities are capitalized, even if the activities do not result in commercially productive quantities of hydrocarbon reserves. This puts a property at higher risk for future impairment if commodity prices significantly decrease, operating or development costs significantly increase or reservoir performance is below expectations.

Our management team has identified and scheduled drilling locations and possible infrastructure locations on our license and lease areas over a multi-year period. Our ability to drill and develop these locations depends on a number of factors, including the availability of equipment and capital, approval by block or lease partners and national and state regulators, seasonal conditions, oil prices, assessment of risks, costs and drilling results. For example, a shutdown of the U.S. federal government could delay the regulatory review and approval process associated with drilling or developmental activities within our license areas in the Gulf of America. The final determination on whether to drill or develop any of these locations will be dependent upon the factors described elsewhere in this report as well as, to some degree, the results of our drilling and production activities with respect to our established wells and drilling locations. Because of these uncertainties, we do not know if the drilling locations we have identified will be drilled or infrastructure installed or modified within our expected timeframe or at all or if we will be able to economically produce hydrocarbons from these or any other potential drilling locations. As such, our actual drilling and development activities may be materially different from our current expectations, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

In order to protect our exploration and production rights in our license areas, we may be required to meet various drilling and declaration requirements. In general, unless we make and declare discoveries within certain time periods specified in certain of our petroleum contracts and licenses, our interests in the undeveloped parts of our license areas may lapse. Should the prospects yield discoveries, we cannot assure you that we will not face delays in the appraisal and development of these prospects or otherwise have to relinquish these prospects. The costs to maintain petroleum contracts over such areas may fluctuate and may increase significantly since the original term, and we may not be able to renew or extend such petroleum contracts on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Our actual drilling activities may therefore materially differ from our current expectations, which could adversely affect our business. Under certain petroleum contracts, we have work commitments to perform exploration and other related activities. Failure to do so may result in our loss of the licenses. As of December 31, 2024, we have unfulfilled drilling obligations for one development well in Equatorial Guinea. In certain other petroleum contracts, we are in the initial exploration phases, some of which have certain obligations that have yet to be fulfilled. Over the course of the next several years, we may choose to enter into the next phase of those petroleum contracts which will likely include firm obligations to drill wells. Failure to execute our obligations may result in our loss of the licenses. The exploration period of some of our petroleum contracts has expired or may expire in the near future. For each of our petroleum contracts, we cannot assure you that any renewals or extensions will be granted or whether any new agreements will be available on commercially reasonable terms, or, in some cases, at all. For additional detail regarding the status of our operations with respect to our various petroleum contracts, please see "Item 1. Business-Operations by Geographic Area."

In the Gulf of America, regulatory initiatives are continually developed and implemented at the federal level to prevent major well control incidents. The Department of Interior ("DOI") through the BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ("BSEE"), has issued a variety of regulations and Notices to Lessees and Operators ("NTLs"), intended to impose additional safety, permitting and certification requirements applicable to exploration, development and production activities in the Gulf of America. These regulatory initiatives effectively slowed down the pace of drilling and production operations in the Gulf of America as adjustments were being made in operating procedures, certification requirements and lead times for inspections, drilling applications and permits, and exploration and production plan reviews, and as the federal agencies evolved into their present-day bureaus. On May 15, 2019, BSEE published a final rule with an effective date of July 15, 2019 that revises requirements for well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time monitoring (RTM), and subsea containment. These revisions modify regulations pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning in accordance with Executive and Secretary of the Interior's Orders. Key features of the well control regulations include requirements for blowout preventers (BOPs), double shear rams, third-party reviews of equipment, real time monitoring data, safe drilling margins, centralizers, inspections and other reforms related to well design and control, casing, cementing and subsea containment. For a discussion of recent drilling and climate change executive orders signed by former President Biden and the potential impact of the new Trump Administration on these orders, see the risk factor earlier in this 10-K titled "Our business, operations and financial condition may be directly and indirectly adversely affected by political, economic and environmental circumstances, and changes in laws and regulations, in the countries and regions in which we operate." In addition to the array of new or revised safety, permitting and certification requirements developed and implemented by the DOI in the past few years, there have been a variety of proposals to change existing laws and regulations that could affect offshore development and production, such as, for example, a proposal to significantly increase the minimum financial responsibility demonstration required under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. To the extent the existing regulatory initiatives implemented and pursued over the past few years or any future restrictions, whether through legislative or regulatory means or increased or broadened permitting and enforcement programs, foster uncertainties or delays in our offshore oil and natural gas development or exploration activities, then such conditions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any other new rules, regulations or legal initiatives by BOEM or other governmental authorities that impose more stringent requirements regarding financial assurances, moratoria on new leases or otherwise adversely affecting our offshore activities could result in increased costs, limit our operations and adversely impact our future financial results.

Exploration and production activities in the oil and gas industry are subject to local laws and regulations. We may be required to make large expenditures to comply with governmental laws and regulations, particularly in respect of the following matters: - licenses for drilling operations;- tax increases, including retroactive claims;- unitization of oil accumulations;- local content requirements (including the mandatory use of local partners and vendors); and - safety, health and environmental requirements, liabilities and obligations, including those related to remediation, investigation or permitting. Under these and other laws and regulations, we could be liable for personal injuries, property damage and other types of damages. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in the suspension or termination of our operations and subject us to administrative, civil and criminal penalties. Moreover, these laws and regulations could change, or their interpretations could change, in ways that could substantially increase our costs. These risks may be higher in the developing countries in which we conduct a majority of our operations, where there could be a lack of clarity or lack of consistency in the application of these laws and regulations. Any resulting liabilities, penalties, suspensions or terminations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. For example, Ghana's Parliament has enacted the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, the Petroleum Commission Act of 2011, and the 2016 Ghanaian Petroleum Law. There can be no assurance that these laws will not seek to retroactively, either on their face or as interpreted, modify the terms of the agreements governing our license interests in Ghana, including the WCTP and DT petroleum contracts and the Jubilee UUOA, require governmental approval for transactions that effect a direct or indirect change of control of our license interests or otherwise affect our current and future operations in Ghana. Any such changes may have a material adverse effect on our business. We also cannot assure you that government approval will not be needed for direct or indirect transfers of our petroleum agreements or interests thereunder based on existing legislation.

We are subject to various international, foreign, federal, state and local health, safety and environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, the emission and discharge of pollutants into the ground, air or water, the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation and disposal of regulated materials and the health and safety of our employees, contractors and communities in which our assets are located. We are required to obtain environmental permits from governmental authorities for our operations, including drilling permits for our wells. We maintain policies and processes to comply with these various permits and laws and regulations to which we are subject. If determined that we have violated or failed to comply with such requirements, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators, including through the revocation of our permits or the suspension or termination of our operations. Additionally, there is a risk that such requirements could change in the future or become more stringent. If we fail to obtain, maintain or renew permits in a timely manner or at all (due to opposition from partners, community or environmental interest groups, governmental delays or other reasons), or if we face additional requirements imposed as a result of changes in or enactment of laws or regulations, such failure to obtain, maintain or renew permits or such changes in or enactment of laws or regulations could impede or affect our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We, as an interest owner or as the designated operator of certain of our past, current and future interests, discoveries and prospects, could be held liable for some or all health, safety and environmental costs and liabilities arising out of our actions and omissions as well as those of our block partners, third-party contractors, predecessors or other operators. To the extent we do not address these costs and liabilities or if we do not otherwise satisfy our obligations, our operations could be suspended or terminated. We have contracted with and intend to continue to hire third parties to perform services related to our operations. There is a risk that we may contract with third parties with unsatisfactory health, safety and environmental records or that our contractors may be unwilling or unable to cover any losses associated with their acts and omissions. Accordingly, we could be held liable for all costs and liabilities arising out of their acts or omissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We are not fully insured against all risks and our insurance may not cover any or all health, safety or environmental claims that might arise from our operations or at any of our license areas. If a significant accident or other event occurs and is not covered by insurance, such accident or event could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We take measures to prevent the release of regulated substances. If a release of regulated substances were to occur, which may be significant, under certain environmental laws, we could be held responsible for all of the costs relating to any contamination at our current or former facilities and at any third-party waste disposal sites used by us or on our behalf. In addition, offshore oil and natural gas exploration and production involves various hazards, including human exposure to regulated substances, which include naturally occurring radioactive, and other materials. As such, we could be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of human exposure to such substances or for other damage resulting from the release of any regulated or otherwise hazardous substances to the environment, property or to natural resources, or affecting endangered species. In addition, we expect continuing attention to climate change and energy transition issues. For example, in April 2016, 195 nations, including Ghana, Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal and the United States, signed and officially entered into an international climate change accord (the "Paris Agreement"). The Paris Agreement calls for signatory countries to set their own GHG emissions targets, make these emissions targets more stringent over time and be transparent about the GHG emissions reporting and the measures each country will use to achieve its GHG targets. A long-term goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global temperature increase to well below two degrees Celsius from temperatures in the pre-industrial era. President Trump has indicated that he intends to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, as he did during his first term. Separately, in December 2023, the U.S. EPA announced its final rule regulating methane and volatile organic compounds emissions in the oil and gas industry which, among other things, requires periodic inspections to detect leaks (and subsequent repairs), places stringent restrictions on venting and flaring of methane, and establishes a program whereby third parties can monitor and repot large methane emissions to the EPA. Relatedly, in November 2024, the U.S. EPA finalized a rule implementing the Waste Emissions Charge, a fee for large emitters of methane if their emissions exceed certain levels, as required by the Inflation Reduction Act. In addition, in March 2024, the SEC finalized rules requiring disclosure of a range of climate change-related information, including, among other things, companies' climate change risk management; material climate-related financial risks; and disclosure of material Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. While implementation of the rules could be costly and time consuming, litigation challenging the rules has commenced, and the SEC has stayed the rules pending this litigation; in addition, President Trump criticized these rules during his campaign, and it is expected that his administration could take steps to undo them. It cannot be determined at this time what effect these various climate change and GHG emissions-related developments will have on our business, results of operations and financial condition. This legislative and regulatory uncertainty, however, could result in a disruption to our business or operations. For a discussion of environmental and climate change executive orders signed by former President Biden and the potential impact of the Trump Administration on these orders, see the risk factor earlier in this 10-K titled "Our business, operations and financial condition may be directly and indirectly adversely affected by political, economic and environmental circumstances, and changes in laws and regulations, in the countries and regions in which we operate." Health, safety and environmental laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and have tended to become increasingly stringent over time. Our costs of complying with current and future climate change, health, safety and environmental laws, the actions or omissions of our block partners and third-party contractors and our liabilities arising from releases of, or exposure to, regulated substances may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. See "Item 1. Business-Environmental Matters" for more information.

We are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign government officials and political parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or otherwise securing an improper business advantage. In addition, the United Kingdom has enacted the Bribery Act of 2010, and we may be subject to that legislation under certain circumstances. We do business and may do additional business in the future in countries and regions in which we may face, directly or indirectly, corrupt demands by officials. We face the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, contractors or consultants. Our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective in preventing such unauthorized payments, and our employees and consultants may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or other anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the U.S. government may seek to hold us liable for successor liability for FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest in (for example, by way of acquiring equity interests in, participating as a joint venture partner with, acquiring the assets of, or entering into certain commercial transactions with) or that we acquire. While we believe we maintain a robust compliance program (including policies, procedures, and controls) and corresponding compliance culture, from time-to-time assertions may be raised, including by media outlets or competitors, related to our operations or assets which, notwithstanding the lack of veracity of such assertions, may attract the interest of regulators or affect the market perception of Kosmos.

At times, we use derivatives, specifically cash-settled commodity options and interest rate swaps, to hedge risks associated with our business, including commodity price and interest rate risk. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") has jurisdiction over derivatives, including swaps and cash-settled commodity options, which are regulated as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. Of particular importance to us, the CFTC has implemented regulations that establish position limits for certain futures and economically equivalent swaps and require exchanges to do the same. Certain bona fide hedging positions are exempt from these position limits. As the relevant provisions of these rules for the Company are phased in over the next several years, they may increase costs or, if we are unable to meet the specific requirements of the relevant hedging exemption, we may be subject to certain position limits. The CFTC has designated certain interest rate swaps for mandatory clearing and exchange trading. The CFTC has not yet proposed rules designating any other classes of swaps, including commodity swaps, for mandatory clearing or exchange trading. The application of the mandatory clearing and trade execution requirements may change the cost and availability of the swaps that the Company uses for hedging. Swap dealers that we transact with need to comply with margin and segregation requirements for uncleared swaps. While our uncleared swaps are not directly subject to those margin requirements as a result of the fact that they are used by us for hedging purposes, due to the increased costs to dealers for transacting uncleared swaps in general, our costs for these transactions may increase. The Commodity Exchange Act also requires certain of the counterparties to our derivatives instruments to be registered with the CFTC and be subject to substantial regulation. These requirements could significantly increase the cost of derivatives, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, and reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivatives. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of these regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable, which could adversely affect our ability to plan for and fund capital expenditures. Our revenues could also be adversely affected if a consequence of the legislation and regulations is to lower commodity prices. The European Union and other non-U.S. jurisdictions have also implemented or are implementing similar regulations with respect to the derivatives market. To the extent we transact with counterparties in foreign jurisdictions, we or our transactions may become subject to such regulations. The impact of such regulations could be similar to those described above with respect to U.S. rules. Any of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. General Risk Factors