(WO) — Kistos maintained its full-year 2026 production guidance following strong operational performance during the first half of the year, while advancing development projects in the North Sea and progressing acquisitions of upstream assets in Oman.
The independent energy company reported pro forma production of 20,500 boed during the first six months of 2026 and reaffirmed full-year production guidance of 19,000-21,000 boed. Following sanction of the Balder Next project in June, Kistos reported pro forma 2P reserves of 47.6 MMboe and estimated 2C resources of 52.4 MMboe.
Operational uptime remained strong across the company’s portfolio despite planned maintenance shutdowns at the Greater Laggan Area (GLA) facilities and the Balder floating production unit. A planned shutdown of the Jotun FPSO is expected to conclude by the end of July, while an ongoing debottlenecking project is designed to increase processing capacity and operational flexibility ahead of the planned removal of the Balder FPU in 2028.
In the Balder area, Phase V drilling has been completed, with the COSL Pioneer rig now drilling the Phase VI trilateral well. The King well has also been drilled from the Ringhorne platform, and both wells are expected to begin production during the second half of the year.
Kistos also highlighted progress in Oman, where completion of its acquisitions of Blocks 3 and 4 is awaiting issuance of a Royal Decree after receiving all required regulatory approvals. Completion of the company’s acquisition of an interest in Block 9 is also expected later this year. During the first half, the Block 9 joint venture amended its Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement with Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals to support future production and reserves growth.
The company said the recent transfer of operatorship of the Greater Laggan Area to Serica Energy creates opportunities for infill drilling and additional third-party tie-backs to the Shetland Gas Plant.
“We have generated a significant amount of cash in H1, supported by a period of strong operational performance across our asset portfolio, keeping us on track to achieve our production guidance of 19-21 kboed in 2026,” said Executive Chairman Andrew Austin.
Pictured above: Balder Phase V in development, offshore Norway. Image: Kistos.
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